homunculus
[ huh-muhng-kyuh-luhs, hoh- ]
/ həˈmʌŋ kyə ləs, hoʊ- /
Save This Word!
noun, plural ho·mun·cu·li [huh-muhng-kyuh-lahy, hoh-]. /həˈmʌŋ kyəˌlaɪ, hoʊ-/.
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.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of homunculus
OTHER WORDS FROM homunculus
ho·mun·cu·lar, adjectiveDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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
homunculus
/ (hɒˈmʌŋkjʊləs) /
noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ)
a miniature man; midget
(in early biological theory) a fully-formed miniature human being existing in a spermatozoon or egg
Former name: homuncule (həʊˈmʌŋkjuːl)
Derived forms of homunculus
homuncular, adjectiveWord Origin for homunculus
C17: from Latin, diminutive of homo man
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