The Only Use of
chimera
in
The Black Cat
- I am almost ashamed to own--that the terror and horror with which the animal inspired me, had been heightened by one of the merest chimaeras it would be possible to conceive.
chimaeras = imagined things that are not possible in the real world
Definitions:
-
(1)
(chimera) a wild, unrealistic idea or hope; or a mythical creature made from parts of different animals
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
As a proper noun Chimera refers to a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology. It is a female monster with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail.
More rarely, in biology, a chimera is an organism that contains cells or tissues with a different genotype.
Chimaera is also an acceptable spelling and the name of a type of fish.