Meanings
plural hemicranias · alternative dated hemicrany
- countableuncountablemedicineA headache affecting one side of the head.
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. …
1993, The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov, translation Burgin and O’Connor, Chapter 2, p. 17
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
nouna severe recurring vascular headache; occurs more frequently in women than men
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἡμικρᾱνίᾰ
- Late Latinhemicrania“pain in one half of the head”
- Englishhemicrania
From Late Latin hemicrania (“pain in one half of the head”), from Ancient Greek ἡμικρᾱνίᾰ (hēmikrāníă), from ἡμι- (hēmi-, “hemi-, half”) + κρανίον (kraníon, “skull”) (from whence also cranium). Cognate to megrim and migraine, which also derive from the Latin.
More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Portuguese hemicrania, enxaqueca
- hemicraniaa headache affecting one side of the head
- enxaquecaa headache affecting one side of the head
Spanish hemicránea
- hemicráneaa headache affecting one side of the head
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with hemicrania
Cite this entry
hemicrania. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hemicrania
“hemicrania.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hemicrania. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hemicrania,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hemicrania.
Source: hemicrania on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.