| Library / English Dictionary |
PETIT MAL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A seizure of short duration characterized by momentary unconsciousness and local muscle spasms or twitching
Example:
the girl was frightened by her first petit mal
Synonyms:
epilepsia minor; petit mal
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("petit mal" is a kind of...):
epileptic seizure (convulsions accompanied by impaired consciousness)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Epilepsy characterized by paroxysmal attacks of brief clouding of consciousness (and possibly other abnormalities)
Example:
she has been suffering from petit mal since childhood
Synonyms:
epilepsia minor; petit mal; petit mal epilepsy
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("petit mal" is a kind of...):
epilepsy (a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions)
Meronyms (parts of "petit mal"):
absence; absence seizure (the occurrence of an abrupt, transient loss or impairment of consciousness (which is not subsequently remembered), sometimes with light twitching, fluttering eyelids, etc.; common in petit mal epilepsy)
