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chimera

3 ENTRIES FOUND:

chi·me·ra

noun \kī-ˈmir-ə, kə-\

Definition of CHIMERA

1
a capitalized : a fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail b : an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts
2
: an illusion or fabrication of the mind; especially : an unrealizable dream <a fancy, a chimera in my brain, troubles me in my prayer — John Donne>
3
: an individual, organ, or part consisting of tissues of diverse genetic constitution

Examples of CHIMERA

  1. Economic stability in that country is a chimera.
  2. <a monster in the closet would not have been the first chimera that the boy had seen in his mind's eye>

Origin of CHIMERA

Latin chimaera, from Greek chimaira she-goat, chimera; akin to Old Norse gymbr yearling ewe, Greek cheimōn winter — more at hibernate

Other Genetics Terms

hermaphrodite, plasticity

Rhymes with CHIMERA

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