Etymograph

English

migraine

Migraine comes from Latin hemicrania ‘a pain in one half of the head’, from Ancient Greek κρανίον ‘the 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‘the skull’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡμικρανία1hēmikranía‘pain on one side of the head or face, migraine’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemicrania1‘a pain in one half of the head’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400migraigne1
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500megrim1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1995migraine1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English migraine
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek κρανίον
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Robert A. Davidoff, Migraine: Manifestations: “Syncope is estimated to occur in bouts of headache…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱerh₂-Wiktionary, English migraineroot 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 migrainekraníon‘the skull’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἡμικρανίαWiktionary, English migrainehēmikranía‘pain on one side of the head or face, migraine’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEhemicraniaWiktionary, English migraine‘a pain in one half of the head’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400migraigneWiktionary, English migraine
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500megrimWiktionary, English migraine
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1995migraineWiktionary, English migraine. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1995, Robert A. Davidoff, Migraine: Manifestations: “Syncope is estimated to occur in bouts of headache…”

The story

First appears c. 1425. A respelling (following French) of the late 14th century Middle English megrim, from the 13th century Old French migraigne, from Vulgar Latin pronunciation of Latin hemicrania (‘a pain in one half of the head’), from Ancient Greek ἡμικρανία (hēmikranía), from ἡμι- (hēmi-, “hemi-, half”) + κρανίον (kraníon, “the skull”) (whence also cranium), a calque of Egyptian gs-tp (‘a headache’), from gs (‘half’) + tp (‘the head’), although the link between the Egyptian magical papyri and the Greek ἡμικρανία (hēmikranía) could be purely incidental.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-

horn, cheer, hart, cerebral, crater, corny, carotid, grail, cornea, cerebellum, cairn, cornet, procrastinate, cranium, keratin, cerebrum, rother, 51 more

Today it means

noun A severe, disabling headache, usually affecting only one side of the head, and often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, photophobia and visual disturbances.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “migraine”; 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- / migraine

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