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guinea pig - 5 dictionary results
guinea pig
–noun
| 1. | a short-eared, tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, usually white, black, and tawny, commonly regarded as the domesticated form of one of the South American wild species of cavy: often used in scientific experiments or kept as a pet. |
| 2. | Informal. the subject of any sort of experiment. |
Origin:
1655–65
1655–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To guinea pig
| guinea pig n.
[Perhaps alteration (influenced by Guinea, used as a name for any faraway unknown country) of Guiana.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Guinea pig
1664, native to South America and is so called either because it was first brought back to Britain aboard Guinea-men, ships that plied the triangle trade between England, Guinea, and South America; or from confusion of Guinea (q.v.) with the South American region of Guyana. In the extended sense of "one subjected to an experiment" it is first recorded 1920, because they were commonly used in vivisection experiments.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Language Translation for : guinea pig
Spanish:
cobayo, conejillo de Indias,
German:
das Meerschweinchen,
Japanese:
モルモット
Main Entry: guin·ea pig
Pronunciation: 'gin-E-"
Function: noun
: a small stout-bodied short-eared nearly tailless domesticated rodent of the genusCavia (C. cobaya) often kept as a pet and widely used in biological research called also cavy
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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guinea pig guin·ea pig (gĭn'ē)
n.
Any of various small, short-eared domesticated rodents of the genus Cavia, having variously colored hair and no visible tail. They are widely kept as pets and often used as experimental animals.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
