chimaera
Americannoun
-
any fish of the family Chimaeridae, the male of which has a spiny clasping organ over the mouth.
-
any similar fish of the group Holocephali, which includes this family.
noun
-
any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or Bradyodonti ), esp any of the genus Chimaera. They have a skull in which the upper jaw is fused to the cranium See also rabbitfish
-
Greek myth a variant spelling of chimera
Etymology
Origin of chimaera
First recorded in 1795–1805; see origin at chimera
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ghost sharks - also known as chimaera - are rarely spotted, and sightings of their young are even more uncommon.
From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2022
For the study, scientists focused on two ghost shark species often caught off New Zealand: the brown chimaera and black ghost shark.
From National Geographic ● Jun. 12, 2017
“On the video camera we saw a kind of chimaera that whizzed by – that’s very, very rare in Australian waters,” she said.
From The Guardian ● May 31, 2017
James's patient was a chimaera: a person who develops from a mixture of two fertilized eggs, usually owing to a merger between embryonic twins in the womb.
From Nature ● Feb. 17, 2015
Guarded," he said, "though the Palace of Illusion was by every species of hippogriffic chimaera, my bride and I experienced no difficulty in penetrating inside its precincts.
From The Twilight of the Gods, and Other Tales by Garnett, Richard
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
