Pronunciation: [hê-'mên-kyê-lês ] Listen
Definition: A very small man.
[@more@]Usage: The plural is "homunculi" [hê-mên-kyê-lee] or [hê-mên-kyê-lI]. The Oxford English Dictionary for some reason prefers homuncule [hê-'mên-kyul]. Until modern medicine, it was believed that a human sperm cell contained a "preformed" complete homunculus that began growing in the womb. We recommend that you avoid this usage.
Suggested Usage: The term once substituted for "midget" and "pygmy" but is considered pejorative today. Its use should be restricted to science fiction or insults, which we are sure you never use: "A squad of homunculi exited the flying saucer and carried me into their medical examination room." You, of course, would never say things like this: "If his brother is a giant in his field, he is a homunculus in his."
Etymology: From the Latin diminutive (a word referring to something small or beloved) of homo, hominis "man." Germanic languages like English marked diminutives with -kin (lambkin, pumpkin, catkin). In fact, English has an old diminutive with the same meaning as homunculus: "manikin." This word was borrowed by French then borrowed back by English as "mannequin" with a different meaning.
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