Main Entry: ho·mun·cu·lus

Pronunciation: \hō-ˈməŋ-kyə-ləs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural ho·mun·cu·li \-ˌlī, -ˌlē\

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 individual merely by an increase in size