chimerical

English

Etymology

From chimera, from Latin chimaera, from Ancient Greek χίμαιρα (khímaira, “she-goat”). This term entered English around 1638.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɪˈmɛɹɪkəl/

Adjective

chimerical (comparative more chimerical, superlative most chimerical)

1. Of or pertaining to a chimera.
2. Being a figment of the imagination; fantastic (in the archaic sense).
   • 1877, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

     "Yes; I have a turn both for observation and for deduction. The theories which I have expressed there, and which appear to you to be so chimerical, are really extremely practical—so practical that I depend upon them for my bread and cheese."

   a chimerical goal

3. Inherently fantastic; wildly fanciful.

Translations

of or pertaining to a chimera

Esperanto: ĥimera (eo)

being a figment of the imagination

Esperanto: ĥimera (eo)

inherently fantastic

Esperanto: ĥimera (eo)

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Translations to be checked

Italian: chimerico

Derived terms

• chimerically