Migraine

Migraine

Noun · /ˈmiː.ɡreɪn/

Definition

A type of intense, often debilitating headache typically affecting one side of the head, often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound; in many cases preceded by an aura — visual disturbances or other neurological symptoms.

Origin

From French migraine, from Old French migraigne, from Medieval Latin hemigrania, from Greek hēmikrania (half-skull headache), from hēmi- (half) + kranion (skull). The Greek hēmi- root gives hemisphere (half-sphere), hemicycle, and hemiplegic. The word reached English through French in the 15th century. The dropping of the initial hemi- to give migraine through French is an example of aphesis — the loss of an unstressed initial syllable.