does anyone know the origins of the word 'chimera' (also spelled 'chimaera') or a link to where i could possibly find out?
I need this for an etymology paper.
thanks
2007-09-17 05:03:25 · 9 answers · asked by zen_bodhisattva 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
i know it has another meaning " an unrealizable dream or an illusion or fabrication of the mind", so if anyone knows where this meaning originated also...that would be fabulous!
2007-09-17 17:12:52 · update #1
Chimera
Latin 'chimaera', from Greek chimaira' she-goat, chimera; akin to Old Norse 'gymbr' yearling ewe, Greek 'cheimòn' winter .
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2007-09-17 05:09:05 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It comes from the Greek word ''khimaira'', which means a she-goat, or monster. This word, in turn, derives from the Greek for a he-goat, ''khimaros''. It passed into Latin, which is where the word ''chimaera'' originates. In modern English, the preferred spelling is now chimera because it simplifies the spelling by removing the Latinate dipthong.
2007-09-17 12:09:55 · answer #2 · answered by chris m 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes! Since in Greek mythology the chimera (or chimaera) was an animal with the head of a lion and body of a goat, and since your type of chimera is a mixture of two species, that's why.
2007-09-17 12:08:26 · answer #3 · answered by Mark S, JPAA 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Middle English chimere, Chimera, from Old French, from Latin chimaera, from Greek khimaira, she-goat. From the Proto-Indo-European *ghei- "winter".
2007-09-17 12:24:00 · answer #4 · answered by ganesh 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
chimera
1382, from L. Chimaera, from Gk. chimaira, a fabulous monster (with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail), supposedly personification of snow or winter, orig. "year-old she-goat," from cheima "winter season." Meaning "wild fantasy" first recorded 1587.
"Beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun." [Wyclif, "Prologue"]
From: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chimera
2007-09-17 12:12:27 · answer #5 · answered by Nothingusefullearnedinschool 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mark Chimera was a tight end for Green Bay but was accused of Boinking his baby sitter and his career was ruined.
2007-09-17 12:11:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chimera (Greek ΧίμαιÏα (ChÃmaira); Latin Chimaera) i
2007-09-17 12:09:17 · answer #7 · answered by bunter 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
all i know it to be is a twinheaded dragon in mythology. my dictionary says it can come from the following greek words:
the greek cheimn meaning winter
the greek khimera meaning a serpent/lion/goat animal in mythology.
2007-09-17 12:07:59 · answer #8 · answered by mrzwink 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chimera
2007-09-17 12:08:42 · answer #9 · answered by Robin W 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋