Webster's English Dictionary

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chimera

chi.me.ra or chi.mae.ra \ki--'mir-*, k*-\ n [L chimaera, fr. Gk chimaira 
   she-goat, chimera; akin to Gk cheim]o-n winter cap  1a: a she-monster in 
   Greek mythology usu. with a lion's head vomiting flame s, a goat's body, 
   and a serpent's tail 1b: an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous 
   parts  2: an illusion or fabrication of the mind; esp : an unrealizable dr 
   eam 3: an individual, organ or part consisting of tissues of diverse 
   genetic co nstitution and occurring esp. in plants and most frequently at a 
   graft union