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I Didn't Think it Means What it Means

By evolgen on January 7, 2007.

After beating a dead centaur yesterday, Dictionary.com's word of the day for today seems quite appropriate:

chimerical \ky-MER-ih-kuhl; -MIR-; kih-\, adjective:

1. Merely imaginary; produced by or as if by a wildly fanciful imagination; fantastic; improbable or unrealistic.

2. Given to or indulging in unrealistic fantasies or fantastic schemes.

I would have thought chimerical meant part one thing and part another -- you know, a chimera. I guess not.

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I would have thought chimerical meant part one thing and part another -- you know, a chimera. I guess not.

Scrolling just a bit futher down the first page you referenced finds ...

Chimerical is ultimately derived from Greek khimaira, "she-goat" or "chimera," which in Greek mythology was a monster having the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon.

The two definitions given are pretty obvious generalizations from the original , I'd say ...

By Scott Belyea (not verified) on 07 Jan 2007 #permalink

Main Entry: chi·mer·i·cal

Variant(s): or chi·mer·ic \-rik, -emacronk\; or chi·me·ral \-mirschwal, -memacron-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: chimera + -ic, -ical, or -al
1 : being, relating to, or like a chimera ; especially : unreal and existing only as the product of wild unrestrained imagination
2 : inclined to or indicative of unrestrained imagination : UNREALISTIC
3 usually chimeral or chimeric : of, relating to, or being a chimera
synonym see IMAGINARY

"chimerical." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (7 Jan. 2007).

I was previewing and didn't manage to get my comment in, which is that it looks as if "chimerical" has diverged, and "chimeric/chimeral" are the adjectives mainly used for "related to a chimera".