| 释义 |
guinea pig
noun
1. [probably so called from the fact that Guinea represented the name of a distant country]
a. : a small stout-bodied short-eared nearly tailless domesticated hystricomorph rodent (genus Cavia) often kept as a pet and widely used in biological research, occurring in many combinations of black, white, and tawny red, having short or long hair, and being commonly considered a distinct species (C. cobaya) although probably a domesticated variety of some So. American species (as C. porcellanus or C. cutleri) — called also cavy; see aperea
b. : an animal of Cavia or of related genera — often used with a qualifying term
< mountain guinea pigs of the genus Microcavia >
2. Britain
a. [so called from the payment of guineas as fee to the vessel's captain] : midshipman
b. : a person receiving a guinea as a fee — often used of a doctor or clergyman substituting for another
3. [so called from the wide use made of guinea pigs in experimentation and research] : a subject of experimentation or testing designed to yield data for drawing scientific conclusions or large-scale calculations |