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Chimera
Definitions
- 1 A supposed fire-breathing monster in Lycia with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon or snake, killed by the hero Bellerophon. Greek
"CHIMERA, a fabulous monſter..."
- 2 A fire-spewing mountain in Lycia or Cilicia, presumed to be an ancient name for the Yanartaş region of Turkey's Antalya Province.
"CHIMERA... The foundation of the fable was, that in Lycia there was a burning mountain, or vulcano, of this name; that the top of this mountain was ſeldom without lions, nor the middle, which had very good graſs, without goats; that ſerpents bred at the bottom, which was marſhy; and that Bellerophon rendered the mountain habitable."
- 3 Former name of Himara, a port town in southern Albania. historical
"CHIMÆRA, in geography, a port town of Turky in Europe, ſituated at the entrance of the gulph of Venice, in the province of Epirus, about thirty-two miles north of the city Corfu, near which are the mountains of Chimæra, which divide Epirus from Theſſaly..."
- 4 Former name of Ceraunian Mountains, the Albanian mountain range near Himara. historical
- 1 Alternative letter-case form of Chimera, a supposed monster in Lycia with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon or serpent, killed by the hero Bellerophon. Greek, alt-of
"...beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun..."
- 2 a grotesque product of the imagination wordnet
- 3 Any fantastic creature combining parts from different animals.
"A voice had called him forth to think in solitude—a voice he durst not resist, the awful one of the future. It fell on John's heart like the mutter of approaching desolation. He heard it coming on, as the spell-bound in a hideous dream await, wordless and shivering, the progress of some chimera monster, whose grasp is to crush and destroy."
- 4 (Greek mythology) fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail; daughter of Typhon wordnet
- 5 A foolish, incongruous, or vain thought or product of the imagination. figuratively
"In the middle of theſe Cogitations, Apprehenſions, and Reflections, it came into my Thought one day, that all this might be a mere Chimera of my own; and that this Foot might be the Print of my own Foot, when I came on Shore from my Boat: This chear'd me up a little too, and I began to perſuade myſelf it was all a Deluſion; that it was nothing elſe but my own Foot; and why might I not come that way from the Boat, as well as I was going that way to the Boat: […]"
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- 6 Anything composed of very disparate parts. figuratively
"He built his car one piece at a time, producing a chimera with the head of a Volkswagen, the body of a Geely, and the tail of an aftermarket Porsche."
- 7 A grotesque like a gargoyle, but without a spout for rainwater.
"A chimera is essentially a hybrid animal made up of various animal parts. The famous parapet chimeras on the north tower of Notre Dame in Paris, especially the brooding double-horned fellow with protruding tongue on the west parapet originally assumed to relate to a thirteenth-century model, are classic examples."
- 8 An organism with genetically distinct cells originating from two or more zygotes.
"The DNA test returned a false negative because the killer was a chimera, having absorbed her twin in utero."
- 9 Alternative form of chimaera, a cartilaginous marine fish in the subclass Holocephali and especially the order Chimaeriformes, with a blunt snout, long tail, and a spine before the first dorsal fin. alt-of, alternative
"The chimeras […] are an extant group of about 30 species. They have the upper jaw fused with the cranium and a gill cover over the four gill slits. They also have toothy plates that give them a ratlike appearance, thus the common name "ratfish." The group occurs in ocean depths worldwide, where they mainly feed on invertebrates."
- 10 Synonym of bogeyman: any terrifying thing, especially as an unreal, imagined threat. figuratively
"How could that Chymera haue come in any mannes mynd?"
Etymology
Variant of Middle English chimere, chymere, & chymera under renewed Latin influence from the 16th century, from French chimère, from Latin Chimaera, from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira, “fire-breathing mythological monster, fire-spewing Lycian or Cilician mountain”), from χίμαιρα (khímaira, “she-goat”, from χίμαρος (khímaros, “male goat”) + -α (-a)), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey-. In reference to the fish, directly from Latin Chimaera, used by Linnaeus. In reference to organisms with distinct areas of different genetic makeups, a calque of German Chimäre, used by Hans Winkler in 1907.
As the mythological beast, a variant case form of chimera, q.v. As an ancient mountain, directly from Latin mons Chimaera (“Mount Chimera”), from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira), attested in Strabo.
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