homunculus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal
    manikin; mannikin.
  2. noun a tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell

WordNet

Ho*mun"cu*lus noun
Etymology
L., dim. of homo man.
Wordforms
plural Homunculi
Definitions
  1. A little man; a dwarf; a manikin. Sterne.

Webster 1913