22 January 2015
chimera
[ki-meer-uh, kahy-]
noun, plural chimeras.
1. (often initial capital letter) 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, especially 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.
Origin
Middle English, LatinGreek
1350-1400; Middle English chimera < Latin chimaera < Greek chímaira she-goat; akin to Old Norse gymbr, English gimmer ewe-lamb one year (i.e., one winter) old, Latin hiems winter (see hiemal ), Greek cheimṓn winter
Synonyms
3. dream, fantasy, delusion.
Dictionary.com
Examples from the web for chimera
– The surgery-which makes the recipient a human-animal chimera -is widely accepted.
– I’m still researching what the reason for my eye colour is but some of the information is quite scary ie chimera and mosaic dna.
– The first sight to greet a visitor to the show is a colossal stone chimera, a hybrid of lion and bird, in the museum lobby.
Anagram
race him
ham rice
Today’s aphorism
If you cannot stand a spoon upright in the cup, then the coffee is too weak.
― Lawrence Block
On this day
22 January 1973 – In the landmark ‘Roe v Wade’ case and decided simultaneously with ‘Doe v Bolton’, the United States Supreme Court rules that abortion is a Constitutional right because of the application of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment to a woman’s right to privacy, which includes the right to abortion. This was to be balanced with other state interests, namely the right to protect prenatal life and the protection of women’s health.
22 January 1930 – construction commences of the Empire State Building. It was completed 410 days later and was the world’s tallest building at that time.