/ki mear"euh, kuy-/ , n. , pl. chimeras .
1. ( often cap. ) a mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
2. any similarly grotesque monster having disparate parts, esp. as depicted in decorative art.
3. a horrible or unreal creature of the imagination; a vain or idle fancy: He is far different from the chimera your fears have made of him.
4. Genetics. an organism composed of two or more genetically distinct tissues, as an organism that is partly male and partly female, or an artificially produced individual having tissues of several species.
Also, chimaera .
[ 1350-1400; ME chimera chimaera chímaira she-goat; akin to ON gymbr, E gimmer ewe-lamb one year (i.e., one winter) old, L hiems winter (see HIEMAL), Gk cheimón winter ]
Syn. 3. dream, fantasy, delusion.