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
Words Nearby homunculus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use homunculus in a sentence
In Sentient, we learn that spread across the human brain we can find a “sensory homunculus,” a touch map of the body with supersize areas corresponding to our hands and lips, reflecting the density of touch sensors in these zones.
homunculus whales at this interval, erupting from a patch of ocean without pattern.
The Whale Who Will Come Soon - Issue 105: Whale Songs | Rebecca Giggs | September 8, 2021 | NautilusMy scanned homunculus, dick and all, surely will appear online then go viral.
homunculus denotes the weak and powerless being called man, with reference to the whole race, in opp.
Dderlein's Hand-book of Latin Synonymes | Ludwig DderleinWe are far ahead of Tristram Shandy, nowadays; the inferiority of the homunculus is no mere matter of accident or interruption.
The Life and Letters of Lafcadio Hearn, Volume 1 | Elizabeth Bisland
The word imports what the Latins call homunculus, the Italians homunceletino, and the English mannikin.
Then came a yelling, a crashing among the branches, and a little pink homunculus rushed by us shrieking.
The Island of Doctor Moreau | H. G. WellsYou men of the nineteenth century know only by reputation of our attempts to produce an homunculus, and a perpetuum mobile naturæ.
The Magic of the Middle Ages | Viktor Rydberg
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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