petit mal
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of petit mal
1870–75; < French: literally, small illness
Compare meaning
How does petit-mal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Prior to 2018, Tognetti said, she heavily and regularly battled both grand mal and petit mal seizures, with the latter about 20 seconds in duration.
From Washington Times • Jan. 31, 2020
The first thing Dr. Crothers did in my case was administer an electroencephalogram, or EEG, to make sure I didn’t have petit mal epilepsy.
From Slate • May 1, 2013
All through his childhood, Tom had "humdinger tantrums that Mum now, knowing more, thinks were small fits: petit mal seizures".
From The Guardian • Jun. 2, 2012
Sam doesn’t have grand mal seizures — the kind you see in movies — but a form of what’s known as petit mal, or absence seizures.
From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2010
The second manifestation of epilepsy, to which the names epilepsia mitior or le petit mal are given, differs from that above described in the absence of the convulsive spasms.
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.
