Definition of Homunculus

1. Noun. A person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal.

Exact synonyms: Manikin, Mannikin
Generic synonyms: Small Person

2. Noun. A tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell.
Generic synonyms: Individual, Mortal, Person, Somebody, Someone, Soul

Definition of Homunculus

1. n. A little man; a dwarf; a manikin.

Definition of Homunculus

1. Noun. A little man. ¹

2. Noun. The nerve map of the human body that exists on the parietal lobe of the human brain. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Homunculus

1. [n -LI]

Medical Definition of Homunculus

1. 1. An exceedingly minute body which, according to the views of development held by medical scientists of the 16th and 17th centuries, was contained in a sex cell. From this preformed but infinitely small structure the human body was supposed to be developed. See: preformation theory, animalcule. 2. The figure of a human sometimes superimposed on pictures of the surface of the brain to represent the motor or sensory regions of the body represented there. Origin: L. Dim. Of homo, man (05 Mar 2000)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Homunculus

homozygosis
homozygosities
homozygosity
homozygote
homozygotes
homozygotic
homozygous
homozygous achondroplasia
homozygous by descent
homozygously
homs
homuncle
homuncles
homuncular
homunculi
homy
homœoblastic
homœogenesis
homœoid
homœomerous
homœomorph
homœomorphy
homœopathism
homœopathist
homœopathists
homœoplasty
homœothermic
hon
honan

Literary usage of Homunculus

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Bookman (1910)
"Peter homunculus, by Gilbert Can- nan, is a book which, in spite of its very leisurely progress, its 'Peter multifold characters and homunculus" incidents, ..."

2. Poet Lore (1901)
"We see that homunculus leaves Wagner and goes with Mephis- ... The latter's connection in the creation of homunculus is that he has allowed to a certain ..."

3. The Second Part of Goethe's Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1886)
"The soft rays Shed round us of thy haze, And far away be Day's Intrusive world of light. Sea-shore.—THALES, homunculus, NEREUS. Thales [to homunculus]. ..."

4. A Geographical History of Mammals by Richard Lydekker (1896)
"... first on the hind foot, are provided with long claws. None of these animals are known from the Santa Cruz FlG. 9. PART OF RIGHT LOWER JAW OF homunculus. ..."

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