petit mal

Meaning

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.

Synonyms

epilepsia minor

minor epilepsy

petit mal epilepsy

epilepsy

pykno-lepsy

pykno-epilepsy

Translations

petit mal

petit mal

kleiner epileptischer Anfall

absence

petit mal

petite crise d’épilepsie

piccolo male

crisi di assenza

petit mal

Petit mal

epilepsia menor

epilepsia minor

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˌpɛti ˈmal/

Etymology

Borrowed from French petit mal (literally “little illness”).