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homunculi

 - 5 dictionary results

ho⋅mun⋅cu⋅lus

  [huh-muhng-kyuh-luhs, hoh-]
Use homunculi in a Sentence
–noun, plural -li  [-lahy] .
1. an artificially made dwarf, supposedly produced in a flask by an alchemist.
2. a fully formed, miniature human body believed, according to some medical theories of the 16th and 17th centuries, to be contained in the spermatozoon.
3. a diminutive human being.
4. the human fetus.
Origin:
1650–60; < L, equiv. to homun- (var. of homin-, s. of homō man; see Homo ) + -culus -cule 1

Related forms:
ho⋅mun⋅cu⋅lar, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To homunculi
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

homunculus 
1656, from L., lit. "little person," from homo(gen. hominis) "man, human being" + -culus, dim. suffix, source of Eng. -cle.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ho·mun·cu·lus
Pronunciation: hO-'m&[ng]-ky&-l&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural ho·mun·cu·li /-"lI, -"lE/
: a miniature adult that in the theory of preformation was held to inhabit the germ cell and to produce a mature individualmerely by an increase in size
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

homunculus 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 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.
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