homunculus

/hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/

//hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"homunculus" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“homunculus” is uncommon English (frequency #70,751 among 23,837 “H” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#70,751
frequency rank, English
23,837
“H” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be present in human sperm.

Key facts for homunculus
PropertyValue
Headwordhomunculus
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/
Letters10
Frequency rank#70,751
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “homunculus” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). homunculus lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

homunculus is uncommon English at frequency #70,751 among 23,837 “H” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for homunculus, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our dataset records no confusable match here, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin homunculus, from homō (“man”) + -culus (diminutive suffix). The correct English form is homunculus, spelled H-O-M-U-N-C-U-L-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be present in human sperm.
  2. 2
    The nerve map of the human body that exists on the parietal lobe of the human brain.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin homunculus, from homō (“man”) + -culus (diminutive suffix).

This word in other languages

homúnculo(Español)homoncule(Français)Homunkulus(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "homunculus"?
"homunculus" is spelled H-O-M-U-N-C-U-L-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/.
What does "homunculus" mean?
As a noun, "homunculus" means: A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be present in human sperm.
How do you pronounce "homunculus"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "homunculus" is /hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "homunculus"?
Borrowed from Latin homunculus, from homō (“man”) + -culus (diminutive suffix). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “homunculus”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-O-M-U-N-C-U-L-U-S - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /hɒˈmʌŋk.jʊ.ləs/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Other uncommon English words near this rank

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list