trepanation

noun /tɹɛpəˈneɪʃən/

1. The practice of drilling a hole in the skull as a physical, mental, or spiritual treatment.

   countable, uncountable

   Creed had suffered […] a swelling to the brain that the tribe’s chief physic treated with trepanation.

Where it comes from

From New Latin trepanatio, formed from French trépan (“a drill”), itself from Latin trepanum, ultimately from Ancient Greek τρύπανον (trúpanon, “an auger, a drill”).

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry trepanation (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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