sick headache

American  

noun

1. migraine.

---

sick headache British  

noun

1. a headache accompanied by nausea

2. a nontechnical name for migraine

---

Etymology

Origin of sick headache

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

Like Middleton, he had physical symptoms, which he described as “a sick headache, a heavy dull feeling, until it is as if a band of steel were around my head.”

From The New Yorker • Feb. 25, 2019

Hayfever is closely related to asthma, hives, eczema, certain forms of food sensitivity, some forms of sick headache, occasionally colitis.

From Time Magazine Archive

Current medical opinion is that nearly everybody gets it, but usually in so mild a form that it seems to be only a sick headache, or a low fever, not unlike a cold.

From Time Magazine Archive

To study a sick headache systematically the University recently advertised for a victim.

From Time Magazine Archive

Granddaddy looked amused; Mother looked as if she had a sick headache but gamely held up her end of the conversation.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly