different between nerf vs ner

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /n?f/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /n??f/
• Rhymes: -??(?)f

Etymology 1

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

Verb

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.

Derived terms

• nerf bar
• nerf net

Etymology 2

From the Nerf brand of toys designed as non-dangerous counterparts of existing things, such as sports balls and guns.

Verb

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

1. (transitive, slang, video games) To cripple or weaken an element of a video game during its development (such as a character, a weapon, a spell, etc.).

   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.

Derived terms

• stealth nerf

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

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

Noun

nerf (plural nerfs)

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

Anagrams

• Fern, fern, fren, fren'

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?rf/
• Hyphenation: nerf
• Rhymes: -?rf

Etymology 1

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

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

Noun

nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

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

Derived terms

• houtnerf

Etymology 2

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

nerf f (plural nerven, diminutive nerfje n)

1. (obsolete) nerve

   Synonym: zenuw

2. (botany) vein of a leaf

Derived terms

• bladnerf

References

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??/

Noun

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

Related terms

• neurone

Further reading

• “nerf” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nerf.

Noun

nerf m (plural nerfz)

1. nerve

Descendants

• French: nerf

Old French

Etymology

From Latin nervus.

Noun

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

1. nerve

Related terms

• nerveus

Descendants

• Middle French: nerf
  • French: nerf

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?rv/

Noun

nerf f (plural nerfau, not mutable)

1. nerve

Derived terms

• nerfol
• nerfus

English

Etymology

Formed by onomatopoeia. The extended form is neener.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??/

Interjection

ner

1. (slang, childish) An interjection generally used when gloating about a perceived cause of humiliation or inferiority for the person being addressed, often when disagreeing with a statement considered incorrect or irrelevant.

   You're wrong, so ner!

   I don't care what you think, so ner!

   I've got more sweets than you. Ner ner ner ner ner!

Derived terms

ner ner ner ner ner

Emphatic form of ner — pronounced /n?? n?? n? n?? n??/ and sung or spoken with the rhythm: crotchet, dotted quaver, semiquaver, crotchet, crotchet. Spelling is not canonical; alternatives are "ner ner na ner ner" or "ner ner ne ner ner".

Translations

Anagrams

• -ern, -ren, Ern, NRE, REN, RNE, ern, ren

German

Alternative forms

• 'ner

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?/

Article

ner

1. (colloquial) Contraction of einer (“a, an”).

Norwegian Bokmål

Adverb

ner

1. form removed with the spelling reform of 2005; superseded by ned

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adverb

ner

1. (dialectal) Alternative form of ned

Old Irish

Etymology

After Witczak, from Proto-Celtic *e?ros (“boar”), from Proto-Indo-European *(h?)epros (“boar”), with the n- arising from rebracketing of the demonstrative-final n in accusative *ton e?ron, i.e. overgeneralisation of the nasal mutation. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *eburaz, Latin aper, and (with a prefix) Proto-Slavic *vepr?. Witczak rejects Pokorny's derivation from Proto-Celtic *nero- (“hero”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?n?r (“man, male”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n??er/

Noun

ner m (genitive neir, nominative plural neir)

1. (poetic) boar

Inflection

Synonyms

• cullach
• fithend
• torc

Mutation

References

• Gregory Toner, Maire Ní Mhaonaigh, Sharon Arbuthnot, Dagmar Wodtko, Maire-Luise Theuerkauf, editors (2019) , “ner”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?r/

Noun

ner f

1. genitive plural of nera

Romansch

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader) nair
• (Surmiran) neir

Etymology

From Latin nigrum, accusative of niger.

Adjective

ner m (feminine singular nera, masculine plural ners, feminine plural neras)

1. (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan) black

Antonyms

• (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran, Puter) alv
• (Vallader) alb

Swedish

Alternative forms

• ned (more formal)
• neder (archaic except in some compounds)

Etymology

A contraction of earlier neder, from Old Norse niðr, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Indo-European *niter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?r/

Adverb

ner (not comparable)

1. (somewhat informal) down; in a direction downwards
2. (somewhat informal) down; off (with various verbs to denote something which is turned off or shut down)

Usage notes

The forms ned and ner are often, but not always, interchangeable. The form ned is more formal and is especially found in compounds of more formal nature, whereas ner is more common as a word on its own. For instance the formal word nedlägga (“to discontinue, shut down”) vs. its informal equivalent lägga ner. Some compounds can use either form, e.g. nedladdning (“download”) (more formal) or nerladdning (less formal). Some compounds only use ned, e.g. nedlåtande (“condescending”).

In a few compounds, the otherwise archaic form neder is used, e.g. nederbörd (“precipitation”) or nedervåning (“ground floor”).

References

• ner in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• ner in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Anagrams

• ren

Turkmen

Alternative forms

• ??? (ner) (Arabic)

Etymology

From Persian ??? (nar).

Adjective

ner

1. male

   Synonym: erkek

Noun

ner (definite accusative neri, plural nerler)

1. male camel

Declension

Alternative forms

• iner

Westrobothnian

Etymology

From Old Norse nær, comparative of ná-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [né??]
  • Rhymes: -é?r

Adjective

ner (comparative nermene or nemmene, superlative nemmäst or nemest or nemst)

1. Close; near.

Derived terms

• nerhänneli
• nerhännäs
• nerkuno
• nerskylt
• närliggjen
• när
• näst
• skôtner