cavy

ca·vy

C0177000 (kā′vē)n. pl. ca·vies Any of various South American rodents of the family Caviidae, including the guinea pigs, characteristically having a vestigial tail.

[From New Latin Cavia, genus name, perhaps from Galibi cabiai.]

cavy

(ˈkeɪvɪ) n, pl -vies (Animals) 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[C18: from New Latin Cavia, from Galibi cabiai]

ca•vy

(ˈkeɪ vi)

n., pl. -vies. any of several short-tailed or tailless South American rodents of the family Caviidae, as the guinea pig. [1790–1800; < New Latin Cavia name of the genus < Carib cabiai]

Thesaurus

Noun

cavy - short-tailed rough-haired South American rodentgnawer, rodent - relatively small placental mammals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth specialized for gnawingCavia, genus Cavia - type genus of the Caviidae: guinea pigsCavia cobaya, guinea pig - stout-bodied nearly tailless domesticated cavy; often kept as a pet and widely used in researchaperea, Cavia porcellus, wild cavy - South American cavy; possibly ancestral to the domestic guinea pig

Translations

Meerschweinchen

cavy

(kā`vē), name for 14 species of South American rodents of the family Caviidae, including the domestic guinea pigguinea pig
, domesticated form of the cavy, Cavia porcellus, a South American rodent. It is unrelated to the pig; the name may refer to its shrill squeal. Guinea pigs were raised by the Incas and have long been used as food in South America.
..... Click the link for more information. . The wild cavies are usually small, rounded, and tailless, with fur of a uniform shade of brown. Nocturnal animals, they occupy a variety of habitats, especially dense vegetation. An unusual, large species is the Patagonian cavy, or mara (Dolichotis patagonum), a long-legged, harelike animal that reaches a length of about 2 1-2 ft (76 cm) and lives in arid regions. The capybaracapybara
, mammal of Central and much of South America. It is the largest living member of the order Rodentia (the rodents) reaching a length of 4 ft (120 cm) and a weight of 75 to 100 lb (34–45 kg).
..... Click the link for more information. belongs to a related family. Some cavies are hunted for food in South America. Cavies are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Caviidae.

cavy

[′kā·vē] (vertebrate zoology) Any of the rodents composing the family Caviidae, which includes the guinea pig, rock cavies, mountain cavies, capybara, salt desert cavy, and mara.

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Words related to cavy

noun short-tailed rough-haired South American rodent

Related Words