neural English · revision 39724

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1846|origins=grc νεῦρον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈnjʊəɹəl/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈnʊɹəl/, /ˈnɝəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was formed in English from [[grc|νεῦρον|tr=neûron|t=nerve, sinew]] and the adjective suffix [[-al]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(Klein 1966)^(SOED 2002) after other formations in [[neuro-]];^(OED 2026) Barnhart and Merriam-Webster analyse it as “neur-” + “-al”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MWU 2024) The OED compares [[m|fr|neural]], recorded in 1855.^(OED 2026) The Greek word is related to [[m|la|nervus]], the source of [[nerve]].^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In zoology and anatomy, on the side of the body where the spinal cord lies, especially in ''neural arch'' and ''neural spine'': 1846.^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates the word to 1830,^(Etymonline) Barnhart to 1839–47,^(Barnhart 1995) Merriam-Webster to about 1847,^(MWU 2024) and Dictionary.com to 1830–40.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The physiological sense, relating to the activity of nerves or the nervous system, is recorded in Herbert Spencer in 1864,^(OED 2026) the biological sense, of the nature of nerves or nerve tissue, from 1882,^(OED 2026) and the medical sense, affecting the nervous system, from 1883.^(OED 2026) A science-fiction use, connected directly to the nervous system, as of an interface between a device and the brain, appears in 1976.^(OED 2026) Collins also records the computing sense, relating to a network of components that imitates the working of the brain, as in a ''neural network''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1830 – pertaining to nerves.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1846 – (anatomy) on the side of the spinal cord.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1864 – relating to nerve activity.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1883 – affecting the nervous system.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1976 – connected directly to the nervous system.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to a [[nerve]] or to the [[nervous system]]: ''neural pathways''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' Situated on the side of the body where the spinal cord lies; [[dorsal]].^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+ # ''(computing)'' Relating to a network of components or programs designed to imitate the working of the [[brain]].^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[neurally]]

+ * [[interneural]]

+ * [[myoneural]]

+ * [[nonneural]]

+ * [[postneural]]

+ * [[preneural]]

+ * [[sensorineural]]

+ * [[subneural]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[neuron]]

+ * [[nerve]]

+ * [[neuralgia]]

+ * [[neurology]]

+ * [[neurotic]]

+ * [[nervous]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}