Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “homunculus” come from?

Homunculus comes from Latin homunculus, diminutive of homo meaning man, from Proto-Indo-European dʰéǵʰōm meaning earth or ground, with the diminutive suffix Latin -culus.

homunculus (English): A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be...

Definitions

  1. A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be...

Ancestry of “homunculus”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinhomunculusDiminutive of homō; a little or weak man,...
2Latinhomō—
3Old Latinhemō—
4Proto-Italichemōman
5Proto-Indo-Europeanǵʰmṓearthling
6Proto-Indo-Europeandʰéǵʰōmearth
7Proto-Indo-European-ōm—
8Proto-Indo-European-mi—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -mi →