homunculus

[ huh-muhng-kyuh-luhs, hoh- ]

/ həˈmʌŋ kyə ləs, hoʊ- /

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Definition of homunculus

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.

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Origin of homunculus

1650–60; <Latin, equivalent to homun- (variant of homin-, stem of homō man; see Homo) + -culus-cule¹

OTHER WORDS FROM homunculus

ho·mun·cu·lar, adjective

Words nearby homunculus

homozygosity, homozygote, homozygous, homozygous by descent, Homs, homunculus, homy, Homyel', hon, Honan, honcho

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use homunculus in a sentence

My scanned homunculus, dick and all, surely will appear online then go viral.
TSA Is Not Trying to Kill You|Kent Sepkowitz|November 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
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 Dderlein
We 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.
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to prose. Volume III (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland I|Francis W. Halsey

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. Wells
You 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

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, adjective

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

Medical definitions for homunculus

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.

homunculus

Definition of homunculus

Origin of homunculus

OTHER WORDS FROM homunculus

Words nearby homunculus

Words related to homunculus

How to use homunculus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for homunculus

Derived forms of homunculus

Word Origin for homunculus

Medical definitions for homunculus