nerve vs nightmare

nerve

noun
  • mental agitation caused by fear, stress or other negative emotions. 

  • A neuron. 

  • The elastic resistance of raw rubber or other polymers to permanent deformation during processing. 

  • A vein in a leaf; a grain in wood. 

  • Patience; stamina; endurance, fortitude. 

  • A bundle of neurons with their connective tissue sheaths, blood vessels and lymphatics. 

  • Courage; boldness; audacity; gall. 

  • One's neural structures considered collectively as, and conceptually equated with, one's psyche; 

verb
  • May their example nerve us to face the enemy. 

  • To give strength; to supply energy or vigour. 

  • To give courage. 

nightmare

noun
  • Any bad, miserable, difficult or terrifying situation or experience that arouses anxiety, terror, agony or great displeasure. 

  • A very bad or frightening dream. 

  • A feeling of extreme anxiety or suffocation experienced during sleep; Sleep paralysis. 

verb
  • To have a nightmare. 

How often have the words nerve and nightmare occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )