homunculus (noun)
1homunculus — noun (plural homunculi) Etymology: Latin, diminutive of homin , homo human being more at homage Date: 1656 1. a little man ; manikin 2. a miniature adult that in the theory of preformation is held to inhabit the germ cell and to produce a mature… …
2homunculus — noun /həˈmʌŋkjələs,hoʊˈmʌŋkjələs/ a) A little man. b) The nerve map of the human body that exists on the parietal lobe of the human brain. , See Also: homo …
3homunculus — [hɒ mʌŋkjʊləs] (also homuncule kju:l) noun (plural homunculi lʌɪ or homuncules) a very small human or humanoid creature. Origin C17: from L., dimin. of homo, homin man …
4homunculus — /hɒˈmʌŋkjələs/ (say ho mungkyuhluhs) noun (plural homunculi /hɒˈmʌŋkjəlaɪ/ (say ho mungkyuhluy)) 1. a diminutive human; dwarf. 2. a fully formed miniature human being, once believed, according to certain medical theories, to be found in the… …
5preformation — noun Date: 1732 1. previous formation 2. the now discredited theory that every germ cell contains the organism of its kind fully formed and that development involves merely an increase in size compare epigenesis 1, homunculus 2 • preformationist… …
6pygmy — noun 1) a Congo pygmy Syn: dwarf, midget, very small person, homunculus, manikin; Lilliputian; informal shrimp 2) an intellectual pygmy Syn: lightweight, mediocrity, nonentity, nobody, no name …
7preformation — noun a theory (popular in the 18th century and now discredited) that an individual develops by simple enlargement of a tiny fully formed organism (a homunculus) that exists in the germ cell • Syn: ↑theory of preformation • Derivationally related… …
8small person — noun a person of below average size • Hypernyms: ↑person, ↑individual, ↑someone, ↑somebody, ↑mortal, ↑soul • Hyponyms: ↑dwarf, ↑midget, ↑ …
9theory of preformation — noun a theory (popular in the 18th century and now discredited) that an individual develops by simple enlargement of a tiny fully formed organism (a homunculus) that exists in the germ cell • Syn: ↑preformation • Derivationally related forms:… …
10homuncio — noun ( es) Etymology: Latin, diminutive of homin , homo man more at homage obsolete : homunculus …