Chimera
Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word Chimera. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word Chimera, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say Chimera in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word Chimera you have here. The definition of the word Chimera will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofChimera, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chimera on a red-figure Apulian plate, c. 350–340 B.C.E. (Musée du Louvre) 
"Chimera of Arezzo": an Etruscan bronze
Chimera
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
As the mythological beast, a variant case form of chimera, q.v. As an ancient mountain, directly from Latin mons Chimaera (“Mount Chimera”), from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira), attested in Strabo.
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /kaɪˈmɪɹə/, /kəˈmɪɹə/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kʌɪˈmɪəɹə/, /kɪˈmɪəɹə/
Proper noun
Chimera
- (Greek mythology) A supposed fire-breathing monster in Lycia with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a dragon or snake, killed by the hero Bellerophon.
- 1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 184:
- (geography, Ancient Greece) A fire-spewing mountain in Lycia or Cilicia, presumed to be an ancient name for the Yanartaş region of Turkey's Antalya Province.
- 1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 184:
- CHIMERA... The foundation of the fable was, that in Lycia there was a burning mountain, or vulcano, of this name; that the top of this mountain was ſeldom without lions, nor the middle, which had very good graſs, without goats; that ſerpents bred at the bottom, which was marſhy; and that Bellerophon rendered the mountain habitable.
- 1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 184:
- (historical) Former name of Himara, a port town in southern Albania.
- 1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 184:
- (historical) Former name of Ceraunian Mountains, the Albanian mountain range near Himara.
Coordinate terms
Translations
Greek myth: monster killed by Bellerophon
|
References
- “chimera | chimaera, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
Anagrams
Polish
.jpg)
Alternative forms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin Chimaera, from Ancient Greek Χίμαιρα (Khímaira).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Chimera f
Declension
Declension of Chimera
Related terms
adjectives
adverbs
nouns
verbs
- chimerować impf
- schimerować pf