chimera
or chi·mae·ra
- (often initial capital letter) a mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
- any similarly grotesque monster having disparate parts, especially as depicted in decorative art.
- a horrible or unreal creature of the imagination; a vain or idle fancy: He is far different from the chimera your fears have made of him.
- Genetics. an organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, as an organism that is partly male and partly female, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species.
Origin of chimera
Synonyms for chimera
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comRelated Words for chimera
rainbow, monster, fabrication, delusion, hallucination, fancy, illusion, figment, mirage, monstrosity, snare, bubble, specter, bogyExamples from the Web for chimera
Contemporary Examples of chimera
In the Iliad, a Chimera is a grotesque animal jumble, “lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle.”
After the war, Chimera was edited by poet Barbara Howes and Ximena de Angulo.
Historical Examples of chimera
He can not easily believe it to be simply a chimera of an overwrought brain.
Oswald LangdonCarson Jay Lee
The chimera and other animal monsters occur only as figments of the mind.
The Classification of PatentsUnited States Patent Office
Ah, that woman in the mask, that chimera of a night, that fancy of an hour!
The Lure of the MaskHarold MacGrath
Do not delude me with a chimera, and above all do not tempt me to sacrifice my honour to it.
Samuel Brohl & CompanyVictor Cherbuliez
For it was evident that to them, this chimera was still real.
Fantazius MallareBen Hecht
chimera
chimaera
- (often capital) Greek myth a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent
- a fabulous beast made up of parts taken from various animals
- a wild and unrealistic dream or notion
- biology an organism, esp a cultivated plant, consisting of at least two genetically different kinds of tissue as a result of mutation, grafting, etc
Word Origin for chimera
Word Origin and History for chimera
fabulous monster, late 14c., from Old French chimere or directly from Medieval Latin chimera, from Latin Chimaera, from Greek khimaira, name of a mythical creature, slain by Bellerophon, with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail (supposedly personification of snow or winter); literally "year-old she-goat" (masc. khimaros), from kheima "winter season" (see hibernation). Figurative meaning "wild fantasy" first recorded 1580s in English (attested 13c. in French).
Beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun. [Wyclif, "Prologue"]
chimera
(kī-mîr′ə, kĭ-)- One who has received a transplant of genetically and immunologically different tissue.
- Twins with two immunologically different types of red blood cells.
chimera
A monster in classical mythology who had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon or serpent.