Q: I am wondering how chimera has come to mean both “an imaginary monster compounded of incongruous parts” and “an unrealizable dream.”
A: When “chimera” originally appeared in ancient Greece as χίμαιρα (khimaira), it also had two meanings—a female goat as well as a monster. In its farming sense, χίμαιρα was simply the female version of a male goat, χίμαρος (khimaros).
In the Iiad, which dates from the seventh century BC, Homer describes the monster as πρόσθε λέων, ὄπιθεν δὲ δράκων, μέσση δὲ χίμαιρα, δεινὸν ἀποπνείουσα πυρὸς μένος αἰθομένοιο (“in front a lion, in back a serpent, and in the middle a she-goat, breathing out terribly with the might of a blazing fire”).
When Middle English adopted the term in the late 14th century from the Middle French chimère and the Latin chimaera, it was spelled “chymere” and referred to the monster of Greek mythology, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The earliest English citation in the OED is from the prologue of the Wycliffe Bible (early version, 1382):
“Beestis clepid chymeres, that han a part of ech beest, and suche ben not, no but oonly in opynyoun” (“Beasts called chimeras, that have parts of other beasts, exist only in the mind”).
The OED says “chimera” (now pronounced kigh-MIR-uh or kuh-MIR-uh) took on several figurative meanings in the 16th century “with reference to the terrible character, the unreality, or the incongruous composition of the fabled monster.”
In the early 16th century, for example, it came to mean “a horrible and fear-inspiring phantasm, a bogy.” The first Oxford citation for this sense is from an English adaptation of a Latin pastoral poem:
“Agayne [Against] the Chymer [Chimera], here stoutly must he fight.” (From the Fourth Eclogue in The Boke of Codrus and Mynalcas, by Alexander Barclay, based on a 15th-century Latin poem by the Carmelite monk Baptista Mantuanus.)
In the late 16th century, the OED says, the term took on another figurative sense: “an unreal creature of the imagination, a mere wild fancy; an unfounded conception.” The dictionary describes this sense as “the ordinary modern use.”
The first Oxford citation is from an English translation of Philippe de Mornay’s French defense of Christianity: “How could that Chymera haue come in any mannes mynd?” From A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion (1587), by Philip Sidney and Arthur Golding.
(Golding finished the translation the year after Sidney, a poet, scholar, and soldier, was fatally wounded at the age of 31 in a battle with Spanish forces.)
As for the adjectives, “chimerical” appeared in the early 17th century and the less common “chimeric” a couple of decades later.
The OED has two senses for “chimerical” (kigh-MIR-ik-uhl or kuh-MIR-ik-uhl):
“1. Of the nature of a chimera; vainly or fantastically conceived, imaginary, fanciful, visionary” and “2. Prone to entertain chimeras; filled with idle fancies and wild dreams; whimsical, fanciful.”
Here’s the dictionary’s first adjectival citation: “The fire of Purgatory is rightly termed … Chymericall, because a meere fiction.” From A Case for the Spectacles, or, A Defence of Via Tuta, the Safe Way (1638), by the Church of England clergyman and religious controversialist Daniel Featley.
The OED, an etymological dictionary, similarly defines “chimeric” (kigh-MEHR-ik or kuh-MEHR-ik). Merriam-Webster, a standard dictionary that reflects current usage, says “chimeric” is usually used now in two senses in genetics:
“a: relating to, derived from, or being a genetic chimera: containing tissue with two or more genetically distinct populations of cells. ‘Chimeric mice are generated by mixing cells from two embryos, generating a mouse with four parental contributions’—Nancy L. Nadon [gerontologist].
“b: composed of material (such as DNA or polypeptide) from more than one organism. ‘He combined this gene material with safer human DNA and created what’s known as a chimeric gene—a gene of antibody instructions that is part man, part mouse’—Eric Hand [science journalist].”
Getting back to your question, it’s not at all surprising that a word like “chimera” would develop various figurative meanings. Many other terms from Greek mythology have metaphorical senses in English. Here are some of them: “Achilles’ heel” (a vulnerable point), “mentor” (an experienced adviser), “Pandora’s box” (a source of troubles), and “odyssey” (a long and eventful journey, from the character Odysseus).
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