cavia porcellus

2 definitions found

cavia porcellus - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Guinea pig \Guin"ea pig`\ [Prob. a mistake for Guiana pig.]
     1. (Zool.) A small Brazilian rodent (Cavia porcellus or
        Cavia cobaya), about seven inches in length and usually
        of a white color, with spots of orange and black. Called
        also cavy. It is the domesticated form of the wild cavy,
        often kept as a pet and used commonly as an experimental
        animal in laboratory research.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
  
     2. Hence, [figuratively]: Any animal or person used in an
        experiment; -- also applied to people who are unwillingly
        or unknowingly subjected by authorities to policies or
        procedures which might cause bodily or mental harm.
        [PJC]
  
     3. A contemptuous sobriquet. [Obs.] --Smollett
        [Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]

cavia porcellus - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  Cavia porcellus
      n 1: South American cavy; possibly ancestral to the domestic
           guinea pig [syn: aperea, wild cavy, Cavia porcellus]