megrim

noun

me·​grim ˈmē-grəm 

1

a

: migraine sense 1a

b

: vertigo, dizziness

2

a

: fancy, whim

b

megrims plural : low spirits

Did you know?

The History of Megrim Could Be Headache Inducing

Megrim and "migraine" share a meaning and an etymology. Latin and Greek speakers afflicted with a pain in one side of the head called their ailment "hemicrania" or "hēmikrania," from the Greek terms hēmi-, meaning "half," and kranion, meaning "cranium." French-speaking sufferers used "migraine," a modification of "hemicrania," for the same condition. English speakers borrowed "migraine" from French - twice. First, they modified the French term to form "migreime," which in turn gave rise to "megrim" in the 15th century. Later, in the 18th century, they returned to French and borrowed "migraine" again, this time retaining its French spelling. Nowadays, "megrim" and "migraine" can still be used interchangeably, but "megrim" has other meanings as well.

Synonyms

• bee
• caprice
• crank
• fancy
• freak
• humor
• kink
• maggot
• notion
• vagary
• vagrancy
• whim
• whimsy
• whimsey

Examples of megrim in a Sentence

having no sense of purpose, he was often at the mercy of the strange megrims that sprang into his head

Recent Examples on the Web

By 1781, the French word migraine entered the English language as the accepted medical term, replacing older words such as megrim . —Sibbie O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 10 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

Middle English migreime, from Middle French migraine — more at migraine

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Medical Definition

megrim

noun

me·​grim ˈmē-grəm 

1

a

: migraine sense 1a

b

: vertigo

2

: any of numerous diseases of animals marked by disturbance of equilibrium and abnormal gait and behavior

—usually used in plural