ETYM Latin chimaera a chimera, Greek chimera, chimera, he-goat; cf. Icel. qymbr a yearling ewe.
In biology, an organism composed of tissues that are genetically different. Chimeras can develop naturally if a mutation occurs in a cell of a developing embryo, but are more commonly produced artificially by implanting cells from one organism into the embryo of another.
A grotesque product of the imagination; SYN. chimaera.