Meanings
cavy1
plural cavies
- Synonym of domestic guinea pig.
Synonyms: domestic cavy, domestic guinea pig, guinea pig, domestic guinea pig
cavy2
comparative more cavy · superlative most cavy
- alternativeAlternative form of cavey (“cave-like”).
Asser stated that the British name was Tiuogsbane, which means "the cavy place," and is taken to refer to homes hollowed out of the soft sandstone.
1914, Nottingham (England). Chamber of Commerce, Commercial Year Book (page 46)
cavy3
plural cavies
- alternativeAlternative spelling of cavvy (group of saddle horses).
Somewhere there must be an outfit that needed a wrangler on the home place, a helper to bring in the cavy for the cowboys and chore around for the cook.
1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, Prairie Kid; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 49
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of domestic guinea pig.
Origin
cavy · noun
- Old Tupisaûîá
- taxonomic nameCavia
- Englishcavy
From taxonomic name Cavia + English -y; the genus name Cavia was introduced by Dutch naturalist Willem Piso in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (1648), and the initial ⟨c⟩ was supposed to represent [s], but unaware of this, the spelling pronunciation became [k].
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with cavy
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
cavy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cavy
“cavy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cavy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cavy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cavy.
Source: cavy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.