cavy
noun
- Any of a group of South American rodents including guinea pigs and nutria
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈkeɪ.vi/
adj
- Alternative form of cavey (“cave-like”).
“Asser stated that the British name was Tiuogsbane, which means "the cavy place," and is taken to refer to homes hollowed out of the soft sandstone.”
noun
Etymology: From obsolete Portuguese çavia (“the spiny rat, Makalata armate, Echimys armata”) (modern saviá, sauiá), from Old Tupi saujá.
- Synonym of domestic guinea pig.
- Any rodent in the Caviidae.