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chimera |ki'mi(?)r?; k?-| |ka??m?r?| |k??m?r?| |k???m??r?| |k?-| (also chimaera)
noun
1 ( Chimera) (in Greek mythology) a fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
• any mythical animal with parts taken from various animals.
2 a thing that is hoped or wished for but in fact is illusory or impossible to achieve : the economic sovereignty you claim to defend is a chimera.
3 Biology an organism containing a mixture of genetically different tissues, formed by processes such as fusion of early embryos, grafting, or mutation : the sheeplike goat chimera.
• a DNA molecule with sequences derived from two or more different organisms, formed by laboratory manipulation.
4 (usu. chimaera) a cartilaginous marine fish with a long tail, an erect spine before the first dorsal fin, and typically a forward projection from the snout. • Subclass Hoplocephali: three families, in particular Chimaeridae. See also rabbitfish , ratfish .
DERIVATIVES
chimeric |ki'mi(?)rik; k?-; -'merik| |ka??m?r?k| |k??m?r?k| |-?m?r?k| adjective
chimerical |ka??m?r?k?l| |k??m?r?k?l| |-?m?r?k(?)l| adjective
chimerically |ka??m?r?k(?)li| |k??m?r?k(?)li| |-?m?r?k(?)li| adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English : via Latin from Greek khimaira ‘she-goat or chimera.’