Etymograph

English

hemicrania

Hemicrania comes from Late Latin hemicrania ‘pain in one half of the head’, from Ancient Greek κρανίον ‘skull’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-1root named by Wiktionary
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ρη2kắrē‘Homeric form of κᾰ́ρᾱ (kắrā, “the head’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρανίον1kraníon‘skull’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡμικρᾱνίᾰ1hēmikrāníă
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhemicrania1‘pain in one half of the head’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1993hemicrania1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English hemicrania
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρανίον
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1993, The Master and Margarita, Chapter 2: “Gods, gods, why do you punish me? Yes, no…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, English hemicraniaroot named by Wiktionary
  2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́ρηWiktionary, Ancient Greek κρανίονkắrē‘Homeric form of κᾰ́ρᾱ (kắrā, “the head’
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκρανίονWiktionary, English hemicraniakraníon‘skull’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡμικρᾱνίᾰWiktionary, English hemicraniahēmikrāníă
  5. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEhemicraniaWiktionary, English hemicrania‘pain in one half of the head’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1993hemicraniaWiktionary, English hemicrania. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1993, The Master and Margarita, Chapter 2: “Gods, gods, why do you punish me? Yes, no…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-

horn, hart, cheer, cerebral, grail, corny, crater, cornea, carotid, cairn, cornet, cerebellum, procrastinate, keratin, cerebrum, cranium, rother, 50 more

through Late Latin hemicrania ‘pain in one half of the head’

migraine, 1 more

Today it means

noun A headache affecting one side of the head.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “hemicrania”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek κρανίον. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂- / hemicrania

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