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cavy

[key-vee]
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noun, plural ca·vies.
  1. any of several short-tailed or tailless South American rodents of the family Caviidae, as the guinea pig, capybara, or agouti.
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Origin of cavy

1790–1800; < New Latin Cavia name of the genus < Carib (Galibi) cabiai
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cavy

Historical Examples

  • The tools used are made of the incisor teeth of the paca and cavy.

    The Western World

    W.H.G. Kingston

  • This is one of the most common troubles that a Cavy raiser has to contend with.

  • The nest was of dry grass and lined with the fur of the cavy.

  • A few guanaco and ostriches, a sprinkling of cavy, and many pampa foxes seemed to eke out an existence there.

  • The residents of Colohuapi informed me that the place formed the southern limit of the distribution of the cavy.

British Dictionary definitions for cavy

cavy

noun plural -vies
  1. any small South American hystricomorph rodent of the family Caviidae, esp any of the genus Cavia, having a thickset body and very small tailSee also guinea pig
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Word Origin

C18: from New Latin Cavia, from Galibi cabiai
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012