hemicrania

English

Etymology

Late Latin hemicrania (“pain in one half of the head”), from Ancient Greek ἡμικρᾱνίᾰ (hēmikrānía), from ἡμι- (hēmi-, “hemi-, half”) + κρανίον (kraníon, “skull”) (from whence also cranium).

Cognate to megrim and migraine, which also derive from the Latin.

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -eɪniə

Noun

hemicrania (countable and uncountable, plural hemicranias)

  1. (pathology) A headache affecting one side of the head.
    • 1993, The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, translation Burgin and O’Connor, Chapter 2, p. 17:
      “Gods, gods, why do you punish me? Yes, no doubt it is upon me again, again this terrible, invincible affliction … this hemicrania which grips half the head with pain … without remedy, without escape … I must try not to move my head. …”

Usage notes

Medical term, used in some literary contexts; not used in everyday speech. Instead more general headache or more specific migraine used.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Portuguese

Noun

hemicrania f (plural hemicranias)

  1. (pathology) hemicrania (a headache affecting one side of the head)

Synonyms

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