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guinea pig

guinea pig

15 2.3
A small, furry animal with short legs and almost no tail often kept as a pet
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɪni pɪɡ/
translation icon : cobaya
  • My sister has a cute guinea pig that loves to run around in its cage.
  • guinea pigs and ferrets
  • infected guinea pigs
  • using guinea pigs

Also edit out What do you know about breeding Guinea pigs?

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Examples

Synonyms

rodent
vsguinea pig
117 2.8

A small animal like a mouse or rat that uses strong front teeth to chew

is a specific South American pet and research species within that group
Cavia porcellus
vsguinea pig
  • Specialized
9.3

A small, furry pet often called a guinea pig that comes from South America

is the common everyday name for that same domestic species

How Big

capybara
2 7.5
beaver
26 1.0
guinea pig
15 2.3
rat
692 1.0
mouse
587 1.0

Surface Forms

guinea pig singular
guinea pigs plural

Morphology

guinea + pig

The literal words 'guinea' and 'pig' denote an animal, and the MWE is a metaphorical extension from animals commonly used in experiments to a person used as a test subject. This motivated, cross-linguistically attested metaphor makes the connection partially predictable for learners who know the constituents, but the specific human-as-test-subject sense is not fully derivable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Guinea pig is the name of a small, gentle rodent that people keep as a pet and that researchers often use in labs. The clear image of this calm, round animal is the literal meaning of the words today.