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cavy

American  
[key-vee] / ˈkeɪ vi /

noun

  • cavies
    plural
  1. any of several short-tailed or tailless South American rodents of the family Caviidae, as the guinea pig, capybara, or agouti.


cavy British  
/ ˈkeɪvɪ /

noun

  1. any small South American hystricomorph rodent of the family Caviidae, esp any of the genus Cavia, having a thickset body and very small tail See also guinea pig

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of cavy

1790–1800; < New Latin Cavia name of the genus < Carib ( Galibi ) cabiai

Vocabulary lists containing cavy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The zoo also has three of the world’s four largest rodents, including the Patagonian cavy, a sweet-tempered mammal that looks like a cross between a jack rabbit and a dog.

From New York Times Aug. 1, 2014

While looking at the pictures half the children heard factual narrative, like, “Mother cavy licks the babies’ fur to keep them clean.”

From Scientific American Apr. 8, 2014

Mother cavy and her babies like to spend the afternoon sunbathing.

From Scientific American Mar. 27, 2014

Mother cavy and her babies spend the rest of the day lying in the sun.

From Scientific American Mar. 27, 2014

The genera are, the porcupine, cavy, beaver, bat, marmot, squirrel, dormouse, jerboa, and hare. 5th.

From Domestic Pleasures, or, the Happy Fire-side by Frances Bowyer Vaux

Since taking over as zoo curator two years ago, Dr. Valitutto has brought in such animals as Patagonian cavies, a cassowary and a capybara, more than doubling the collection of animals, to 1,500.

From New York Times Aug. 1, 2014

Then the mother cavy feeds her baby cavies.

From Scientific American Mar. 27, 2014

“I will feed some to my baby cavies too!” she says.

From Scientific American Mar. 27, 2014

Furthermore, both the wild and captive-raised cavies showed a markedly higher stress response to an unfamiliar environment than the domesticated guinea pigs.

From Scientific American Apr. 12, 2011

An interesting example of skill in breeding is seen in Dutch belted varieties of cattle, in hogs, rabbits, cavies and mice.

From Outdoor Sports and Games by Claude H. Miller

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