Nerf - Wiktionary

See also: NeRF

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:NERFWikipedia

Pronunciation

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• (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /nɜːf/
• (General American) IPA(key): /nɝf/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)f

Etymology 1

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Circa 1950s? (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

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nerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)

1. (motor racing, transitive) To bump lightly, whether accidentally or purposefully. A racer will often nerf another as a psychological tactic.
   • 1953, Henry Gregor Felsen, Street Rod, Random House, page 129:"The crazy fool!" Ricky exclaimed. "Nerfing me!"

Derived terms

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• nerf bar
• nerf ball
• nerf net

Etymology 2

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From the Nerf brand of toys designed as non-dangerous counterparts of existing things, such as sports balls and guns. Originally used to equate a change in the damage of a weapon in a video game to a change from real weapons to Nerf weapons.

Verb

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nerf (third-person singular simple present nerfs, present participle nerfing, simple past and past participle nerfed)

1. (transitive, slang, video games) To change a mechanic, an ability or a character in a video game in order to make less efficacious. Synonym: gimp The lightning spell was originally pretty powerful, but in the sequel they nerfed it so it became completely useless.
2. (transitive, slang) To arbitrarily limit or reduce the capability of.
   • 2019 May 17, Fred Lambert, Electrek‎[2], retrieved 19 May 2019:Tesla nerfs Autopilot in Europe due to new regulations

Synonyms

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• debuff, worsen, deteriorate, cripple, declaw, defang, degenerate

Antonyms

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• ameliorate, buff (game slang), improve, renew, renovate, revamp

Derived terms

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• stealth nerf

Translations

[edit] to arbitrarily limit or reduce one's capacity

French: nerfer (fr) German: nerfen Italian: nerfare Japanese: ナーフ (nāfu) Portuguese: nerfar (pt) Russian: не́рфить impf (nérfitʹ), поне́рфить pf (ponérfitʹ) Sicilian: nirfari Spanish: nerfear (es), debilitar (es), menguar (es), reducir (es) Turkish: nerflemek

Noun

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nerf (plural nerfs)

1. (slang, video games) The deterioration, weakening or worsening of a character, a weapon, a spell, etc.

Anagrams

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• Fern, fern, fren, fren'

Dutch

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Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /nɛrf/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: nerf
• Rhymes: -ɛrf

Etymology 1

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From earlier nerve, from Middle Dutch *narwe, either inherited from Old Dutch *narwa or borrowed from Middle Low German narwe, eventually from Proto-Germanic *narwō, from earlier *arwaz (“scar”).[1]

For the change of -rwe → -rf, compare verf. Cognate with German Narbe (“scar”).

Noun

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nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

1. grain of wood
2. (dated) a similar line in leather, paper, etc.

Derived terms

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• houtnerf

Descendants

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• Afrikaans: nerf

Etymology 2

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From Latin nervus. The botanic sense belongs historically to this word, but is semantically close to etymology 1 and hence not necessarily felt as a distinct word.

Noun

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nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

1. (obsolete) nerve Synonym: zenuw
2. (botany) vein of a leaf

Derived terms

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• bladnerf

Related terms

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• enerveren
• nerveus

References

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1. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), “arwiz-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 37-38

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle French nerf, from Old French nerf, inherited from Latin nervus.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /nɛʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

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nerf m (plural nerfs)

1. (anatomy) nerve
2. (figuratively) force, power, strength Les nerfs, les garçons! On n'est pas sur un bateau de plaisance. ― Put some muscle into it, boys! We are not on a pleasure boat!

Derived terms

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• à bout de nerfs
• avoir les nerfs à vif
• crise de nerfs
• du nerf
• énerver
• être sur les nerfs
• guerre des nerfs
• innerver
• nerf crânien
• nerf de bœuf
• nerf du canal ptérygoïdien
• nerf phrénique
• nerf radial
• nerf sacculaire
• nerf saphène
• nerf sciatique
• nerf spinal
• nerf splanchnique
• nerf subclavier
• nerf trijumeau
• nerf trochléaire
• nerf vague
• nerf vestibulocochléaire
• nerf vidien
• nerval
• nerver
• nerveux
• nervure
• passer ses nerfs
• taper sur les nerfs

Related terms

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• neuro-
• neurone
• névro-

Further reading

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• “nerf”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Middle French

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Etymology

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From Old French nerf.

Noun

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nerf m (plural nerfz)

1. nerve

Descendants

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• French: nerf

Old French

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Etymology

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From Latin nervus.

Noun

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nerf oblique singular, m (oblique plural ners, nominative singular ners, nominative plural nerf)

1. nerve
   • 1377, Bernard de Gordon, Fleur de lis de medecine (a.k.a. lilium medicine), page 185 of this essay:Donc lepre est maladie de chair et non pas du cueur, ne des os, de des nerfs etc.Therefore leprosy is a disease of the flesh and not of the heart, nor of the bones, nor of the nerves, etc.

Related terms

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• nerveus

Descendants

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• Middle French: nerf
  • French: nerf

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English nerf.

Pronunciation

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• (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈnɛʁ.fi/ [ˈnɛh.fi], /ˈnɛʁf/ [ˈnɛhf]

• (Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈnɛʁ.fi/ [ˈnɛh.fi], /ˈnɛʁf/ [ˈnɛhf]
  • (São Paulo) IPA(key): /ˈnɛɾ.fi/, /ˈnɛɾf/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /ˈnɛʁ.fi/ [ˈnɛχ.fi], /ˈnɛʁf/ [ˈnɛχf]
  • (Caipira) IPA(key): /ˈnɛɻ.fi/, /ˈnɛɻf/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /ˈnɛʁ.fe/ [ˈnɛh.fe], /ˈnɛʁf/ [ˈnɛhf]

• (Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈnɐɾ.fɨ/

• Homophone: nerfe

Noun

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nerf m (plural nerfs)

1. (video games, slang) nerf (worsening of a game mechanic) Antonym: buff
   • 2016 July 22, Rodrigo Lima, “Top 5: Os personagens mais irritantes de se enfrentar em Overwatch”, in GameHall‎[3], São Paulo: R7, archived from the original on 31 May 2025, 1) Torbjörn:Esse é o campeão! Mesmo com nerf nos consoles, os jogadores querem mais nerf. Nerf na torreta, nerf na mira da torreta, nerf no nerf da torreta! Até nerf no jogador, se for necessário!(please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

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• nerfar

Further reading

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• Balanceamento de jogo § Nerf on the Portuguese Wikipedia.Wikipedia pt

Welsh

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English nerve.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /nɛrv/

Noun

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nerf f (plural nerfau, not mutable)

1. nerve

Derived terms

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• nerfol
• nerfus