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chimera

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.05 sec.
chi·me·ra also chi·mae·ra  (k-mîr, k-)
n.
1.
a. An organism, organ, or part consisting of two or more tissues of different genetic composition, produced as a result of organ transplant, grafting, or genetic engineering.
b. A substance, such as an antibody, created from the proteins or genes or two different species.
2. An individual who has received a transplant of genetically and immunologically different tissue.
3. A fanciful mental illusion or fabrication.

[Middle English chimere, Chimera, from Old French, from Latin chimaera, from Greek khimaira, chimera, she-goat; see ghei- in Indo-European roots.]

chimera [kime-meer-a]
Noun
1. a wild and unrealistic dream or idea
2. Greek myth a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent [Greek khimaira she-goat]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.chimeraChimera - (Greek mythology) fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail; daughter of Typhon
Greek mythology - the mythology of the ancient Greeks
mythical creature, mythical monster - a monster renowned in folklore and myth
2.chimera - a grotesque product of the imagination
imagery, imaging, mental imagery, imagination - the ability to form mental images of things or events; "he could still hear her in his imagination"

chimera

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In other days, to seek the sources of the Nile--fontes Nili quoerere--was regarded as a mad endeavor, a chimera that could not be realized.
Unfortunately, a chimera bombinating in a vacuum is, nowadays, only too capable of producing secondary causes.
Hence those strange monsters in lace and embroidery, in silks and brocades, with vast wigs and hoops; which, under the name of lords and ladies, strut the stage, to the great delight of attorneys and their clerks in the pit, and of the citizens and their apprentices in the galleries; and which are no more to be found in real life than the centaur, the chimera, or any other creature of mere fiction.
 
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