Meaning

noun (Greek mythology) fire-breathing female monster with a lion's head and a goat's body and a serpent's tail; daughter of Typhon

noun a grotesque product of the imagination

noun a deep-sea fish with a tapering body, smooth skin, and long threadlike tail

originAs a mythological beast, a variant of earlier Chimera under influence from Latin Chimaera. As a placename, directly from Latin Chimaera.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0