megrim
Noun 1. A severe, recurring headache, often on one side of the head: A specific type of intense, throbbing headache, typically characterized by its recurrent nature and frequent association with symptoms like nausea or sensitivity to light and sound. This meaning is synonymous with "migraine." 2. (Archaic) A whim, caprice, or fancy: An old-fashioned term for a sudden, unpredictable, or fanciful idea or desire. 3. (Archaic, plural: "megrims") Low spirits, melancholy, or depression: An archaic usage, almost always in the plural form, referring to a state of sadness, gloom, or despondency. 4. (Veterinary medicine) A disease of animals, especially horses, causing dizziness or staggering: A technical term for a disorder, such as vertigo or a specific infection, that affects balance and coordination in animals.
- Noun (Medical):
- She retired to a dark room, suffering from a debilitating megrim.
- The doctor diagnosed his condition as a classic megrim.
- Noun (Archaic - Whim):
- He furnished the house according to his own megrims, with little regard for convention.
- "It is but a megrim; she will soon be tired of it," said her father of her latest enthusiasm.
- Noun (Archaic - Low Spirits):
- After receiving the bad news, he was overcome by the megrims for several days.
- The gray weather gave her a fit of the megrims.
- The primary modern use of "megrim" is as a direct, though less common, synonym for "migraine" in a medical context. The other definitions are considered archaic or highly specialized.
- The plural form "megrims" is almost exclusively used for the archaic meaning of "low spirits" or "depression."
- Migraine (n.): The far more common modern term for the severe, recurring headache. "Megrim" is an older variant spelling and pronunciation of this word.
- Megrims (n., plural): As noted, this form typically refers to melancholy or depression in archaic usage.
- Hemicrania (n., technical): The formal medical term from which both "megrim" and "migraine" are derived.
- For the headache: Migraine, sick headache, vascular headache.
- For the archaic "whim": Caprice, fancy, vagary, whim.
- For the archaic "low spirits": Melancholy, blues, despondency, doldrums, gloom.
- (To have) a fit of the megrims: An archaic idiom meaning to experience a period of sadness or depression.
- Ever since his friend moved away, the boy has had a fit of the megrims.
- a severe recurring vascular headache; occurs more frequently in women than men