guinea pig
Any tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, which have short ears and superficially…Any tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, which have short ears and superficially resemble large hamsters.
» He used me as a guinea pig.
Er benutzte mich als Versuchskaninchen. — Wolf
Он использовал меня в качестве подопытного кролика. — marafon
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
5 sensesAny tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, which have short ears and superficially resemble large hamsters.
Any tailless rodent of the genus Cavia, which have short ears and superficially resemble large hamsters.
(especially)A domestic guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, often kept as a pet.
Meerschweinchen, Meerschwein
морска́я сви́нкаmorskája svínka, сви́нкаsvínka
морська́ сви́нкаmorsʹká svýnka
(figuratively)A living experimental subject.
He became a human guinea pig and was paid by the company.
Versuchskaninchen, Proband, Probandin
подо́пытный кро́ликpodópytnyj królik
піддослідний кроликpiddoslidnyj krolyk
(dated, slang)A professional company director, without time or real qualifications for the duties.
(obsolete)A midshipman in the East India service; (by extension) a low-skilled or non-proficient seaman.
- stout-bodied nearly tailless domesticated cavy; often kept as a pet and widely used in research
- a person who is subjected to experimental or other observational procedures; someone who is an object of investigation
Examples
71 sentencesHe used me as a guinea pig.
ruОн использовал меня в качестве подопытного кролика. — marafon
deEr benutzte mich als Versuchskaninchen. — Wolf
Tom didn't volunteer to be a guinea pig.
ruТом не вызывался быть подопытным кроликом. — Biga
We're guinea pigs.
ruМы подопытные кролики. — odexed
That guinea pig is so cute.
Ця морська свинка така мила. — deniko · CC BY 2.0 FR
Guinea pigs are cute.
Морські свинки милі. — deniko · CC BY 2.0 FR
ruМорские свинки милые. — marafon · CC BY 2.0 FR
Translations
9 languagesBy meaning 2
By meaning 2
By meaning 2
Origin
The origin of "guinea" in "guinea pig" is uncertain. One theory is that the animals, whichThe origin of "guinea" in "guinea pig" is uncertain. One theory is that the animals, which are originally from South America, were brought to Europe by way of Guinea, leading people to think they had originated there. "Guinea" was also frequently used in English to refer generally to any far-off, unknown country, and so the name may simply be a colorful reference to the animal's foreignness. Others believe "guinea" may be an alteration of the word coney (“rabbit”); guinea pigs were referred to as "pig coneys" in Edward Topsell's 1607 treatise on quadrupeds.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source