# migraine

Pronunciation: say "MY-grayn" /ˈmaɪɡɹeɪn/

## Noun

1. A severe, disabling headache, usually on one side of the head, often with nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and visual disturbances.
   - Simple: A very bad headache, often on one side of the head, that can cause sickness and trouble with bright light.
   - _The migraine left her unable to work for the rest of the day._
   - _Bright office lighting can trigger a migraine within minutes for some people._
2. A neurological condition marked by recurrent attacks of severe, often one-sided headaches with nausea and sensitivity to light.
   - Simple: A long-term health problem in which a person keeps getting very bad headaches with sickness and light sensitivity.
   - _Migraine affects roughly one in seven people worldwide._
   - _Her neurologist diagnosed migraine after a series of recurring attacks._

## Origin

This is a 1777 re-spelling, following French, of Middle English "megrim," which came through Old French "migraigne" from Latin "hemicrania" ("pain in one half of the head"). That Latin word came from Ancient Greek "hēmikranía," combining "hēmi-" ("half") and "kraníon" ("skull"); it may itself calque an Egyptian word for headache, though that link could be purely incidental.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/migraine (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).