homunculus
[ huh-muhng-kyuh-luh s, hoh- ]
/ həˈmʌŋ kyə ləs, hoʊ- /
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.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- homozygote,
- homozygous,
- homozygous by descent,
- homs,
- homuncular,
- homy,
- homyel',
- hon,
- hon.,
- hon. sec.
Origin of homunculus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web 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)
Word 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
homunculus
1650s, from Latin homunculus, literally "little person," from homo (genitive hominis) "man, human being," the Latin word that means "man, person, a human being" (technically "male human," but in logical and scholastic writing "human being"), also "the human race, mankind," perhaps from PIE *(dh)ghomon-, literally "earthling," from *dhghem- "earth" (see chthonic; also cf. human). With -culus, Latin diminutive suffix. Other Latin diminutives from homo included homullus, homuncio.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
homunculus
[ hō-mŭng′kyə-ləs, hə- ]
n. pl. ho•mun•cu•li (-lī′)
A diminutive human.
A miniature, fully formed individual which adherents of the early biological theory of preformation believed to be present in the sperm cell.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.