Chi-mē'rā, n.

n. [Lat. chimæra, Gr. χίμαιρα, a she-goat; and a fire-spouting monster, killed by Bellerophon; whence It. chimera, Sp. quimera, Fr. chimère, an idle fancy.]

1. (Myth.) A monster represented as vomiting flames, and as having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. “Dire chimeras and enchanted isles.” Milton.
2. A vain or foolish fancy, or creature of the imagination; as the inconsistent chimera of an author. Burke.