homunculus

• Существительное, обозначающее очень маленького человека, часто используемое в историческом или научном контексте для описания миниатюрного человека или крошечной, полностью сформированной особи, которая, как когда-то теоретизировали, существует в сперматозоиде.

A noun referring to a very small human being, often used in historical or scientific contexts to describe a miniature person or a tiny, fully formed individual once theorized to exist in a sperm cell.

irregular plural

1. Very small personC1formal

   A human being of extremely small stature, but without any other physical deformities or abnormalities.

   Гомункул

   • The circus featured a homunculus who was no taller than a child.
   • In the story, a homunculus lived in a tiny house built just for him.
   • The term homunculus is sometimes used to describe a very small but otherwise normal person.

   Synonymsdwarflilliputianmanikinmidget

   Antonymsgiant

2. Preformation theory entityC2formal

   A tiny, fully formed human believed, according to the now-discredited theory of preformation, to exist inside a sperm cell.

   Гомункул

   • The preformation theory suggested that a homunculus was contained within the sperm.
   • Scientists later disproved the existence of the homunculus in reproductive biology.
   • The concept of the homunculus was a key part of early embryological thought.