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tic douloureux

[tik doo-luh-roo; French teek doo-loo-rœ]
noun Pathology.
  1. paroxysmal darting pain and muscular twitching in the face, evoked by rubbing certain points of the face.
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Origin of tic douloureux

1790–1800; < French: literally, painful tic
Also called facial neuralgia, trifacial neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for facial neuralgia

Historical Examples

  • Whilst at Bijnore, I was seized with an attack of tic-douloureux, and suffered all its extreme agonies.

    Wanderings in India

    John Lang

  • We had heard a great deal of his curing a blacksmith of tic-douloureux by mesmerizing him.

British Dictionary definitions for facial neuralgia

tic douloureux

noun
  1. a condition of momentary stabbing pain along the trigeminal nerveAlso called: trigeminal neuralgia
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Word Origin

C19: from French, literally: painful tic
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for facial neuralgia

tic douloureux

n.

1800, French, literally "painful twitching;" see tic.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
facial neuralgia in Medicine

tic douloureux

(dōō′lə-rōō′)
n.
  1. trigeminal neuralgia
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.