homunculus
an artificially made dwarf, supposedly produced in a flask by an alchemist.
a fully formed, miniature human body believed, according to some medical theories of the 16th and 17th centuries, to be contained in the spermatozoon.
a diminutive human being.
the human fetus.
Origin of homunculus
1Other words from homunculus
- ho·mun·cu·lar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use homunculus in a sentence
In thy philosophy there is naught but dreams of elixirs of life or homunculi.
The Faust-Legend and Goethe's 'Faust' | H. B. CotterillThe two homunculi are terrified, and try to hide themselves.
The Magic of the Middle Ages | Viktor RydbergHomunculi quanti sunt, cum recogito—What poor creatures we men are, when I think of it.
His work, his days spent with crowds of homunculi had given him a taste for solitude and the habit of it.
Old Mole | Gilbert Cannan
British Dictionary definitions for homunculus
/ (hɒˈmʌŋkjʊləs) /
a miniature man; midget
(in early biological theory) a fully-formed miniature human being existing in a spermatozoon or egg
Origin of homunculus
1- Former name: homuncule (həʊˈmʌŋkjuːl)
Derived forms of homunculus
- homuncular, adjective
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
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