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petit mal. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
petit mal, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
petit mal in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
Borrowed from French petit mal (literally “little illness”).
Pronunciation
Noun
petit mal (uncountable)
- (neurology) A form of epilepsy where the seizures are characterized as minor, the person becomes vacant or unaware, but not involving spasms and unconsciousness. These seizures are usually brief, lasting up to 30 seconds, and may include twitching. A formal medical term would be absence seizures.
- Coordinate term: grand mal
2010, Carol Turkington, Joseph Harris, The Encyclopedia of the Brain and Brain Disorders, 3rd edition, Infobase Publishing, →ISBN, page 289:Petit mal seizures are also known as absence seizures, which cause a loss of consciousness that is usually brief and barely noticeable. The neurons in a normal brain communicate by firing tiny electric signals.
Translations
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology
From French petit mal.
Noun
petit mal n
- (medicine) petit mal
Synonyms
References
French
Pronunciation
Noun
petit mal m (uncountable)
- (medicine) petit mal
- Coordinate term: grand mal
Descendants