Hypertext Webster Gateway: "chimera"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Chimera \Chime"ra\, n.; pl. {Chimeras}. [L. chimaera a chimera
(in sense 1), Gr. ? a she-goat, a chimera, fr. ? he-goat; cf.
Icel. qymbr a yearling ewe.]
1. (Myth.) A monster represented as vomiting flames, and as
having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the
tail of a dragon. ``Dire chimeras and enchanted isles.''
--Milton.
2. A vain, foolish, or incongruous fancy, or creature of the
imagination; as, the chimera of an author. --Burke.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
Chimera
n 1: (Greek mythology) fire-breathing she-monster with a lion's
head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail; daughter of
Typhon [syn: {Chimera}, {Chimaera}]
2: a grotesque product of the imagination [syn: {chimaera}]
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