Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Homunculus |
HomunculusNoun1. A person who is very small but who is not otherwise deformed or abnormal. 2. A tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "homunculus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1808. (references) |
Etymology: Homunculus \Ho*mun"cu*lus\, noun; plural Homunculi. [Latin expression, diminutive of homo man.]. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The concept of a homunculus (Latin for "little man") is often used to illustrate the functioning of a system. In the scientific sense of an unknowable prime actor, it can be viewed as an entity or agent.The term appears to have been first used by the alchemist Paracelsus. He once claimed that he had created a false human being that he referred to as the homunculus. The creature was to have stood no more than 12 inches tall, and does the work usually associated with a golem. However, after a short time, the homunculus would turn on its creator and run away. The recipe consisted of a bag of bones, sperm, skin fragments and hair from any animal you wanted it to be a hybrid of. This was to be laid in the ground surrounded by horse manure for forty days, at which point the embryo would form.
Hartsoeker's
homunculusThe term was later used in the discussion of conception and birth. In 1694, Nicolaas Hartsoeker discovered "animalcules" in the sperm of humans and other animals. Some claimed that the sperm was in fact a "little man" (homunculus) that was placed inside a woman for growth into a child; these later became known as the spermists. This is not as silly as it sounds today, and neatly explained many of the mysteries of conception (for instance, why it takes two). However it was later pointed out that if the sperm was a homunculus, identical in all but size to an adult, then the homunculus must have sperm of its own. This led to a reductio ad absurdum, with a chain of homunculii "all the way down".
Today the term is used in a number of ways to describe systems that are thought of as being run by a "little man" inside. For instance, the homunculus continues to be considered as one of the major theories on the origin of consciousness, that there is a part (or process) in the brain who's purpose is to be "you". The homunculus is often invoked in cybernetics as well, for similar reasons.
The homunculus is also commonly used to describe the distorted human figure drawn to reflect the relative sensory space our body parts represent on the cerebral cortex. The lips, hands, feet and sex organs are considerably more sensitive than other parts of the body, so the homunculus has grossly large lips, hands and genitals.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Homunculus."
Synonyms: HomunculusSynonyms: manikin (n), mannikin (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Littleness | Dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf; atomy, dandiprat; doll, puppet; Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb; manikin, mannikin; homunculus, dapperling,dwarf, pygmy, pigmy, Liliputian, chit, pigwidgeon, urchin, elf; atomy, dandiprat; doll, puppet; Tom Thumb, Hop-o'-my-thumb; manikin, mannikin; homunculus, dapperling, cock-sparrow. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Homunculus |
| English words defined with "homunculus": Homunculi ♦ preformation ♦ theory of preformation. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "homunculus": CUPID. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | 6. Teil - Das Ende des Homunculus Homunculus (1916) 5. Teil - Die Vernichtung der Menschheit Homunculus (1916) 4. Teil - Die Rache des Homunculus Homunculus (1916) 3. Teil - Die Liebestragödie des Homunculus Homunculus (1916) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | CUPID, n. The so-called god of love. This bastard creation of a barbarous fancy was no doubt inflicted upon mythology for the sins of its deities. Of all unbeautiful and inappropriate conceptions this is the most reasonless and offensive. The notion of symbolizing sexual love by a semisexless babe, and comparing the pains of passion to the wounds of an arrow -- of introducing this pudgy homunculus into art grossly to materialize the subtle spirit and suggestion of the work -- this is eminently worthy of the age that, giving it birth, laid it on the doorstep of prosperity. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Homunculus" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 90.00% of the time. "Homunculus" is used about 10 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 90% | 9 | 117,287 |
| Noun (common) | 10% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 10 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
homunculus | 77 |
homunculus motor | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "homunculus"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Arabic | قزم (bantam, dwarf, elf, gnome, lilliputian, manikin, midget, pigmy, pygmy, runt). (various references) | |
Danish | homunculus. (various references) | |
Dutch | homunculus. (various references) | |
French | humuncule. (various references) | |
German | Menschlein, homunkulus. (various references) | |
Greek | νάνος κατά φαντασία, νάνος με κανονικές αναλογίες, ανθρωπάριο (manikin, midget, shrimp). (various references) | |
Italian | omuncolo (runt). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | omunculushay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | homúnculo. (various references) | |
Spanish | homúnculo. (various references) | |
Turkish | minyatür insan, cüce minyatür adam, cüce (dwarf, elf, gnome, ground-, hop-o'-my-thumb, lilliputian, manikin, midget, nano-, pigmy, pygmean, pygmy, runt, scrub, scrubby, shrimp, tom thumb). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Misspellings | |
"Homunculus" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: homonculus, homuncular, homuncules, homunculous, homunculues, humunculus. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| Words rhyming with "homunculus" (pronounced 'Ho*mun"cu*lus'): Abaculus, AEolus, Alto-cumulus, Alveolus, Angelus, Annulus, Articulus, Asilus, Astragalus, Bacillus, Baetulus, Bolus, Bucephalus, Callus, Canaliculus, Carolus, Cauliculus, Clitellus, Crotalus, Cucullus, Embolus, Flocculus, funiculus, Gladiolus, Glomerulus, hilus, hydrocephalus, Lienculus, Limulus, loculus, Malleolus, modiolus, modulus, Monomphalus, Nautilus, Nucellus, Nucleolus, Obelus, Obolus, Ocellus, Oculus, Overplus, Palulus, Palus, Paxillus, Pediculus, Peplus, Pessulus, Phacellus, Phallus. (additional references) |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-h-l-m-n-o-s-u-u-u" | |
-2 letters: cumulous. | |
-3 letters: columns, cumulus, osculum. | |
-4 letters: clonus, column, consul, locums, mucous, oculus, schuln, slouch. | |
-5 letters: chums, clons, conus, culms, hocus, holms, humus, lochs, locum, locus, lunch, mouch, mucus, mulch, munch, muons, schmo, schul, shuln, solum, uncos, uncus. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Non-fiction 7. Usage Frequency 8. Expressions: Internet | 9. Translations: Modern 10. Derivations 11. Rhymes 12. Anagrams | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
