homunculus

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /həˈmʌŋk.jə.ləs/ UK /hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/ See IPA manual

Freq #44000

Meanings

1

noun
A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be present in human sperm.

Ser Perth stayed near him most of the time now. The man was obviously worried, but tried not to show it. "We've managed to get some testosterone from a blond homunculus," he reported. "That should put you on your feet in no time. Don't worry, young man we'll keep you vivified somehow until the Sign changes." But he didn't sound convincing.
2

noun
a tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell
3

noun
a person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal
4

noun
The nerve map of the human body that exists on the parietal lobe of the human brain.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a person who is very small... manikin

Word family

Related forms homohomunculinemanikin

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin homunculus, from homō (“man”) + -culus (diminutive suffix).

Topics

People & Society

External links

# homunculus

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /həˈmʌŋk.jə.ləs/
**IPA (UK):** /hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/
**Frequency rank:** 44000

## Meanings
1. A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be present in human sperm.
2. a tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell
3. a person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal
4. The nerve map of the human body that exists on the parietal lobe of the human brain.

## Examples
- Ser Perth stayed near him most of the time now. The man was obviously worried, but tried not to show it. "We've managed to get some testosterone from a blond homunculus," he reported. "That should put you on your feet in no time. Don't worry, young man we'll keep you vivified somehow until the Sign changes." But he didn't sound convincing.

## Related Forms
- homo
- homunculine
- manikin

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin homunculus, from homō (“man”) + -culus (diminutive suffix).

## Topics
- People & Society

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