grand mal
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of grand mal
1875–80; < French: great ailment, epilepsy
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Family friends told the MV Times that Forté had a seizure last year that required hospitalization and had been taking medicine since then to prevent a grand mal seizure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
Rosales suffers from grand mal seizures; her mother has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2023
At first, the neuropsychiatrist was "jarred" by the sight of a grand mal seizure.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2023
Iska, his daughter with Ana Maria, had lived with brain damage before dying of a grand mal seizure in 1985 at age 14.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
According to Armand Trousseau, the petit mal in general precedes the manifestation of the grand mal, but sometimes the reverse is the case.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
