ho·mun·cu·lus

(hō-mŭng′kyə-ləs, hə-)

n. pl. ho·mun·cu·li (-lī′)

1. A diminutive human.

2. A miniature, fully formed individual believed by adherents of the early biological theory of preformation to be present in the sperm cell.

[Latin, diminutive of homō, man; see dhghem- in Indo-European roots.]

ho·mun′cu·lar adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

homunculus

(hɒˈmʌŋkjʊləs) or

homuncle

n, pl -li (-ˌlaɪ)

1. (Biology) a miniature man; midget

2. (Genetics) (in early biological theory) a fully-formed miniature human being existing in a spermatozoon or egg

Former name: homuncule

[C17: from Latin, diminutive of homo man]

hoˈmuncular adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ho•mun•cu•lus

(həˈmʌŋ kyə ləs, hoʊ-)

n., pl. -li (-ˌlaɪ)

1. a fully formed, miniature human body believed, according to some medical theories of the 16th and 17th centuries, to be contained in the spermatozoon.

2. a graphic projection of the human image onto the surface of the motor cortex of the brain, depicting the extent of the area activating each part of the body subject to voluntary control.

3. a diminutive human being.

[1650–60; < Latin, =homun-, variant of homin-, s. of homō man (see Homo) + -culus -cule¹]

ho•mun′cu•lar, adj.

homunculus

1. a small man or midget.
2. formerly, the microcosmic human form believed to be present in spermatozoon.

homunculus

n → Homunkulus m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ho·mun·cu·lus

n. homúnculo-a, enano-a sin deformidades y proporcionado-a en todas las partes del cuerpo.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

He appears to me less human than simian, and whenever I hear him talk I seem to myself to have paused in the street to listen to the shrill clatter of a hand-organ, to which the gambols of a hairy homunculus form an accompaniment.

I prefer the talk of the French homunculus; it is at least more amusing.

View in context

Then came a yelling, a crashing among the branches, and a little pink homunculus rushed by us shrieking.

View in context

The notion of symbolizing sexual love by a semisexless babe, and comparing the pains of passion to the wounds of an arrow -- of introducing this pudgy homunculus into art grossly to materialize the subtle spirit and suggestion of the work -- this is eminently worthy of the age that, giving it birth, laid it on the doorstep of prosperity.

View in context

This included a two-way radio suspended behind the standard E type steel target and a Magneto Speed T1000 strobe to flash wildly when the metal homunculus clanged from a hit.

PERFORMANCE CENTER: T/C LRR 6.5 CREEDMOOR: LONG-DISTANCE PERFORMANCE WITHIN AFFORDABLE REACH

The new podcasts look quite compelling - there's a show from The Daily Show presenter Trevor Noah, one from Queer Eye star Karamo Brown, a musical podcast called Anthem: Homunculus that stars Glenn Close, and an exclusive from podcast veteran Russell Brand.

An all-star cast; Luminary has corralled some of the biggest names in podcasts... but can they get fans of the medium to start paying to listen?

Take the everyday word "homunculus." You probably envision an enormous, grotesque monster that could crush your Volkswagen Beetle.

This column isn't humongous, but it's still plenty scary

class="MsoNormalThis is the seat of the so-called homunculus, the distorted "little man" neural map of the body it seems to be where the perception of pain becomes a conscious "ouch.

Sleepless nights can amplify pain: study

The film goes amusingly -- or disgustingly -- nuts in the second half, with such splattery delights as a woman's head attached to a skeleton ("Stop, please!" she begs, still alive despite having no body), a manic homunculus creature with the look of a bloated foetus, and some gruesome fun with a meat hook.

Film review: Overlord ***

The outburst expelled material (about 10 times more than the mass of our Sun) that also formed the bright glowing gas cloud known as the Homunculus. This dumbbell-shaped remnant is visible surrounding the star from within a vast star-forming region.

Astronomers Blown Away by Historic Stellar Blast

Crotty's treatment of the homunculus problem, his largely critical treatment of Bobonich, Price, and Irwin, as well as his less critical account of Annas, are notable features of chapter 7.

CROTTY, Kevin M.: The City-State of the Soul: Constituting the Self in Plato's Republic

Noun	1.	homunculus - a person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal manikin, mannikin small person - a person of below average size
	2.	homunculus - a tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do"