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Discuss Email this Feedback RSS/XML Permalink A.Word.A.Day--chimera So many mythological animals live on in literature, in our minds, and in our imagination, that they would fill a virtual zoo. Because these creatures are myths, they're not bound by biological rules. Sometimes they're part human, part animal. They could have a human head and an animal body, or vice versa. These permutations and combinations of body parts make it look as though the gods were playing a mix-n-match game of combining parts to make composites. At times, one of these mythical animals had more than a single head. Enjoy looking at the menagerie this week and feel free to use their attributes metaphorically in situations in your life. chimera (ki-MEER-uh, ky-) noun 1. A fanciful fabrication; illusion. 2. An organism having genetically different tissues. [After Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster in Greek mythology who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. From Greek khimaira (she-goat), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter) that is the ancestor of words such as chimera (literally a female animal that is one winter, or one year old), hibernate, and the Himalayas, from Sanskrit him (snow) + alaya (abode).] Today's word in Visual Thesaurus. -Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org) "The government subsidies [for bio-fuel] may quickly dry up once policymakers face up to the reality of their euphoric chimera, and food shortages threaten political stability and national security." Abdullah A. Dewan; Fuel Versus Food; The Daily Star (Dhaka, Bangladesh); Apr 24, 2008. X-Bonus My poverty is not complete: it lacks me. -Antonio Porchia, writer (1886-1968)

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