chimera

Where does the word "chimera" come from? It comes from Greek khimaira, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Chimera’s story begins in Greek: khimaira meant “a mythical fire-breathing hybrid monster.” A fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail. It reached English by 1300s as chimera. Broadened from the monster itself to any wildly fanciful idea. Today, chimera means a fanciful, unrealistic idea, or an organism with mixed genetic origins.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient khimaira "a mythical fire-breathing hybrid monster", a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, goat's body, and serpent's tail.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s chimera "an unrealistic or fantastical idea, or a hybrid creature", broadened from the monster itself to any wildly fanciful idea.