Nearby Words

chimaera

[ki-meer-uh, kahy-]

chi·mae·ra

[ki-meer-uh, kahy-]
noun
1.
any fish of the family Chimaeridae, the male of which has a spiny clasping organ over the mouth.
2.
any similar fish of the group Holocephali, which includes this family.

Origin:
1795–1805; see chimera
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Chimaera is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Collins
World English Dictionary
chimaera (kaɪˈmɪərə, kɪ-)
 
n
1.  See also rabbitfish any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or Bradyodonti), esp any of the genus Chimaera. They have a skull in which the upper jaw is fused to the cranium
2.  Greek myth a variant spelling of chimera

chimera or chimaera (kaɪˈmɪərə, kɪ-, kaɪˈmɪərə, kɪ-)
 
n
1.  (often capital) Greek myth a fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, body of a goat, and tail of a serpent
2.  a fabulous beast made up of parts taken from various animals
3.  a wild and unrealistic dream or notion
4.  biology an organism, esp a cultivated plant, consisting of at least two genetically different kinds of tissue as a result of mutation, grafting, etc
 
[C16: from Latin chimaera, from Greek khimaira she-goat, from khimaros he-goat]
 
chimaera or chimaera
 
n
 
[C16: from Latin chimaera, from Greek khimaira she-goat, from khimaros he-goat]

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