χίμαιρα Ancient Greek · revision 3224

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Homer, Iliad|origins=ine-pro *ǵʰeym-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (5th-century BC Attic): /kʰí.mai̯.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (4th-century AD Koine): /ˈçi.mɛ.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (10th-century Byzantine): /ˈçi.me.ra/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''χῐ́μαιρᾰ''' (khímaira) ''f'' (genitive χῐμαίρᾱς); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed with the feminine suffix ⟨-ια⟩ (as in [[πρῷρα|tr=prṓira]]) from an ''r''-stem of the word for winter, ⟨*ǵʰim-er-⟩, which also appears with full grade in [[χειμέριος|tr=kheimérios|t=wintry]]; it alternates with the ''n''-stem of [[χειμών|tr=kheimṓn|t=winter]] and [[χεῖμα|tr=kheîma]].^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) The root is [[ine-pro|*ǵʰeym-|t=winter, snow]].^(Beekes 2010)^(NIL 2008)^(Etymonline) The first meaning was “an animal one winter old”: Hesychius glosses the plural of χίμαρος as “goats of winter”, and a Byzantine etymological dictionary explains χίμαιρα as a goat born in winter, “having one winter”.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)

+

+ Almost the same word is found in North Germanic, as [[non|gymbr|t=ewe that has not yet lambed]], from [[gem-pro|*gimbrī]]; if they are cognate, Beekes thinks the two are probably independent formations.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960) The masculine [[χίμαρος|tr=khímaros|t=he-goat]], attested much later, is probably a new formation from χίμαιρα.^(Beekes 2010)^(Frisk 1960)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Iliad'' it is both the young she-goat and the monster Chimaera, slain by Bellerophon, which was a lion in front, a serpent behind and a she-goat in the middle.^(CGL 2021)^(Cunliffe 1924)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an animal it was the young she-goat, often sacrificed to Artemis, in Hesiod, tragedy and Xenophon; the Septuagint uses it for the young she-goat of the sin offering in Leviticus.^(CGL 2021)^(Lust 2003) As a monster Chimaera, which breathed fire, appears in Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns, Pindar and Plato.^(CGL 2021) English ''chimera'' comes from it through Latin [[m|la|Chimaera]] and French, in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)

+

+ Modern Greek [[m|el|χίμαιρα|tr=chímaira]] is a learned word for an unrealisable aim, an illusion, a sense taken from French ''chimère''; with a capital it is the mythical monster.^(Triantafyllidis 1998)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Homer – The ''Iliad'' uses it for a young she-goat and for the monster Chimaera.^(CGL 2021)^(Cunliffe 1924)

+ * Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod gives the Chimaera's genealogy.^(CGL 2021)

+ * 5th–4th century BC – Xenophon mentions she-goats sacrificed to Artemis.^(CGL 2021)

+ * 3rd–1st century BC – The Septuagint uses it for a sacrificial she-goat.^(Lust 2003)

+ * Late 14th century – English borrows ''chimera''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A young she-[[m|en|goat]], especially as a sacrifice.^(CGL 2021)^(Lust 2003)

+ # ''(mythology)'' The [[m|en|Chimera]], a fire-breathing monster part lion, part goat and part serpent.^(CGL 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[χίμαρος|tr=khímaros]]

+ * [[χειμών|tr=kheimṓn]]

+ * [[χεῖμα|tr=kheîma]]

+ * [[la|Chimaera]]

+ * [[en|chimera]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}