petit mal
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petit mal
- /ˌpɛti ˈmal/ UK
Where it comes from
Borrowed from French petit mal (literally “little illness”).
noun
- 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. 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
Every language
noun form of epilepsy
| Español | crisis de ausencia, vahído |
|---|---|
| Français | absence épileptique, petit mal |
| Русский | ма́лый эпилепти́ческий припа́док mályj epileptíčeskij pripádok |
Talk about this word "petit mal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/petit%20mal. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. petit mal. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/petit%20mal "petit mal." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/petit%20mal.Cite this
@misc{petit_mal_2026,
title = {petit mal},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/petit%20mal},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
