chimaera

American  

[ki-meer-uh, kahy-] / kɪˈmɪər ə, kaɪ- /

noun

1. any fish of the family Chimaeridae, the male of which has a spiny clasping organ over the mouth.

2. any similar fish of the group Holocephali, which includes this family.

3. chimera.

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chimaera British  

/ kaɪˈmɪərə, kɪ- /

noun

1. any tapering smooth-skinned cartilaginous deep-sea fish of the subclass Holocephali (or Bradyodonti ), esp any of the genus Chimaera. They have a skull in which the upper jaw is fused to the cranium See also rabbitfish

2. Greek myth a variant spelling of chimera

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Etymology

Origin of chimaera

First recorded in 1795–1805; see origin at chimera

Example Sentences

Ghost sharks - also known as chimaera - are rarely spotted, and sightings of their young are even more uncommon.

From BBC • Feb. 15, 2022

For the study, scientists focused on two ghost shark species often caught off New Zealand: the brown chimaera and black ghost shark.

From National Geographic • Jun. 12, 2017

“On the video camera we saw a kind of chimaera that whizzed by – that’s very, very rare in Australian waters,” she said.

From The Guardian • May 31, 2017

James's patient was a chimaera: a person who develops from a mixture of two fertilized eggs, usually owing to a merger between embryonic twins in the womb.

From Nature • Feb. 17, 2015

That he has actually realized, in spirit and in effect, if not to the letter, the old chimaera of the philosopher's stone, no sane person is at liberty to doubt.

From The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Poe, Edgar Allan