chimera

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun (Greek mythology) fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail; daughter of Typhon
  2. noun a grotesque product of the imagination

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

Chimaera

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading