cavy
/ˈkeɪvi
/noun (plural cavies)
A South American rodent with a sturdy body and vestigial tail.
- Family Caviidae: five genera and several species, in particular the guinea pig.
- And only when they had taken a closer look at the almost complete skeleton did they realize they had a caviomorph, cousin to the modern cavy or guinea pig.
- He keeps around 80 guinea pigs (also called cavies) on an allotment and feeds them beetroot - ‘the finest thing you can give them’ - which he grows himself.
Origin
Late 18th century: from modern Latin cavia, from Galibi cabiai.