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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

Researchers had children aged 1 through 5 look at picture books of a large rodent called a cavy engaged in various activities.

From Scientific American Apr. 8, 2014

When the mother cavy wakes up, she usually eats lots of grass and other plants.

From Scientific American Mar. 27, 2014

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

From Scientific American Mar. 27, 2014

In like manner, in the Pampas of South America the skeletons of Megatherium, Megalonyx, Glyptodon, Mylodon, Toxodon, Macrauchenia, and other extinct forms, are analogous to the living sloth, armadillo, cavy, capybara, and llama.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir

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

Even the captive-raised cavies had higher levels of norepinephrine and epinephrine from the get-go.

From Scientific American Apr. 12, 2011

Neither cavies nor rabbits are especially intelligent but they do learn to know their master or at least the one who feeds them.

From Outdoor Sports and Games by Miller, Claude H.

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