homunculus
Americannoun
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an artificially made dwarf, supposedly produced in a flask by an alchemist.
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a fully formed, miniature human body believed, according to some medical theories of the 16th and 17th centuries, to be contained in the spermatozoon.
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a diminutive human being.
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the human fetus.
noun
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a miniature man; midget
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(in early biological theory) a fully-formed miniature human being existing in a spermatozoon or egg
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of homunculus
1650–60; < Latin, equivalent to homun- (variant of homin-, stem of homō man; see Homo) + -culus -cule 1
Explanation
A homunculus is a "little man." In the 17th century, theorists called preformationists argued that a human being begins life as a tiny, preformed person — a homunculus — encapsulated in the sperm or, as some thought, in the egg. The preformationists were arguing against Aristotle's view that humans and other organisms begin life as unformed material that gradually takes shape, and, in the case of humans, this process includes a moment of "ensoulment" — when the embryo gets a soul and becomes fully human. A homunculus can also be a "little man" of any sort. You can describe your Ken doll as a homunculus. The word is the diminutive of the Latin word homo "man."
Vocabulary lists containing homunculus
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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.
Homunculus becomes their proctor, presiding over games where the rules seem arbitrary and the judgment appears subjective.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2022
Homunculus, like Hedwig, takes its form from a performance suited to its medium.
From Slate • Apr. 25, 2019
An additional player represents the Homunculus, an artificial intelligence developed from harvested online data to be a “digital duplicate” of that departed friend.
From The Verge • Feb. 1, 2019
Just last week, John Cameron Mitchell announced his own spin on the radio drama with Anthem: Homunculus, an anthologized musical podcast set to feature Cynthia Erivo, Glenn Close, Patti LuPone, Ben Foster and Bridget Everett.
From The Guardian • May 18, 2018
"Hubert the Homunculus would make a kitten laugh."
From Punch, Or The London Charivari, Vol 150, February 9, 1916 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
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.
