Hemicrania
/ˌhɛmɪˈkreɪniə/noun
A headache affecting one side of the head, especially a migraine.
Did you know?Hemicrania is the classical ancestor of migraine: the word traveled through medieval French before becoming the modern term for severe, often one-sided headache.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*sēmi-
“Half; partly—an ancient root inherited by Greek hēmi- and Latin semi-.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
hēmi-
“Half; one of two equal parts.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kranion
“Skull or upper part of the head.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
hēmikrania
“Pain in one half of the head; a one-sided headache.”
Late Antiquity
Latin
hemicrania
“A headache confined to one side of the head.”
Medieval French
Old French
migraine
“A severe headache, derived through the historical reshaping of hemicrania.”
Modern English
English
hemicrania
“A headache affecting one side of the head, particularly a migraine.”
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