guinea pig
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɡɪni pɪɡ/
Forms: form: guinea pigs
form: guinea-pig
form: Guinea-pig
form: Guinea pig
form: guineapig
Etymology: The origin of "guinea" in "guinea pig" is uncertain. One theory is that the animals, which are originally from South America, were brought to Europe by way of Guinea, leading people to think they had originated there. "Guinea" was also frequently used in English to refer generally to any far-off, unknown country, and so the name may simply be a colorful reference to the animal's foreignness. Others believe "guinea" may be an alteration of the word coney (“rabbit”); guinea pigs were referred to as "pig coneys" in Edward Topsell's 1607 treatise on quadrupeds.
The figurative sense of "experimental subject" was first used in the early 20th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which cites examples from 1913 and 1920. It arouse from the once extensive usage of guinea pigs in scientific research since at least the 17th century, which had a peak in popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries, when they were part of groundbreaking germ-theory research and of orbital space flights. Compare Italian cavia, Portuguese cobaia, and the latter's loans into French cobaye, Spanish cobaya, Romanian cobai, and Turkish kobay, all of which mean both "guinea pig" and "volunteer for lab experiment", with the latter often being the commoner sense.
Senses: glosses: Any tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, which have short ears and superficially resemble large hamsters.
glosses: Any tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, which have short ears and superficially resemble large hamsters.
A domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, often kept as a pet.
synonyms: word: cavy
word: domestic cavy
word: domestic guinea pig
examples: text: He became a human guinea pig and was paid by the company.
text: [H]e spoke of the unwisdom of volunteering one's services as a guinea pig.
ref: 1970, Larry Niven, Ringworld, page 115:
text: My dad told me about his days in the Navy: He'd agreed to be a guinea pig in exchange for a shorter enlistment. They kept him awake for a week straight.
ref: 2008 October, Davy Rothbart, “How I caught up with dad”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 112:
synonyms: lab rat
glosses: A living experimental subject.
glosses: A professional company director, without time or real qualifications for the duties.
examples: text: A good seaman he is... none of your guinea-pigs.
ref: 1748, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Roderick Random, page 183:
text: I promise you, to me it was no slight penance to be exposed during the whole voyage to the half sneering, satirical looks of the mates and guinea-pigs.
ref: 1779, Macintosh, Travels, quoted in Carey, Old Days, i. 73
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: A midshipman in the East India service; (by extension) a low-skilled or non-proficient seaman.
Derived terms: word: Abyssinian guinea pig
word: act as a guinea pig
word: Agouti guinea pig
word: Brazilian guinea pig
taxonomic: Cavia aperea
word: Brazilian Guinea Pig
word: Brindle guinea pig
word: common guinea pig
word: Crested guinea pig
word: Dalmatian guinea pig
word: domesticated guinea pig
word: domestic guinea pig
taxonomic: Cavia guianae
word: Cavia porcellus
word: domestic guinea pig genome
word: Dutch guinea pig
word: Greater guinea pig
word: Greater Guinea Pig
word: Cavia magna
word: guinea pig breed
word: guinea pig breeder
word: guinea pig brush
word: guinea pig cage
word: guinea pig diseases
word: guinea pig fancier
word: guinea pig fancy
word: guinea pig food
word: guinea pig genetics
word: guinea pig genome
word: guinea piggie
word: guinea piggies
word: guinea piggy
word: guinea pig handbook
word: guinea pig husbandry
word: guinea piglet
word: guinea pig meat
word: guinea pig model
word: guinea pig night
word: guinea-pig productivity
word: guinea pig pup
word: guinea pig sounds
word: guinea pigs' teeth
word: guinea pig strains
word: guinea pig world
word: hairless guinea pig
word: Himalayan guinea pig
word: human guinea pig
word: Intermediate guinea pig
word: Intermediate Guinea Pig
word: Cavia intermedia
word: laboratory guinea pig
word: long-haired guinea pig
word: long-haired rosetted guinea pig
word: Montane guinea pig
word: Montane Guinea Pig
taxonomic: Cavia nana
word: Cavia tschudii
word: parti-colored guinea pig
word: Peruvian guinea pig
word: Rex guinea pig
word: Roan guinea pig
word: rough-coated guinea pig
word: Satin guinea pig
word: Self guinea pig
word: Sheltie guinea pig
word: Shiny guinea pig
word: Shiny Guinea Pig
word: Cavia fulgida
word: short-haired guinea pig
word: smooth-coated guinea pig
word: smooth-haired guinea pig
word: Teddy guinea pig
word: Texel guinea pig
word: Tortoiseshell guinea pig
word: wild guinea pig
Related terms: cavy boar
cavy piglet
cavy sow
popcorning
wheek