Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Latin
Origin: chimaera, from Greek chimaira 'female goat, chimera'

chimera

 noun
     
Related topics: Mythology
chi‧me‧ra , chimaera [countable]
1 formal something, especially an idea or hope, that is not really possible and can never exist:
trying to present that chimera, 'a balanced view'
2RM an imaginary creature that breathes fire and has a lion's head, a goat's body, and a snake's tail
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
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