Editing Guinea pig (section)

==Nomenclature==

=== Latin name ===
The scientific name of the common species is ''Cavia porcellus'', with ''{{lang|la|[[wikt:porcellus|porcellus]]}}'' being [[Latin]] for "[[diminutive|little]] pig". ''Cavia'' is [[Neo-Latin]]; it is derived from ''cabiai'', the animal's name in the language of the [[Galibi]] tribes once native to [[French Guiana]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Cavy |url=http://dictionary.oed.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060625103623/http://dictionary.oed.com/ |archive-date=2006-06-25 |access-date=2007-04-25 |publisher=Oxford English Dictionary online (subscription access required)}}</ref> ''Cabiai'' may be an adaptation of the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{Lang|pt|çavia}} (now {{Lang|pt|savia}}), which is itself derived from the [[Tupian languages|Tupi]] word {{Lang|tup|saujá}}, meaning rat.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Definition of cavy |dictionary=Merriam-Webster Online |url=http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=cavy |access-date=2007-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080121221309/http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=cavy |archive-date=2008-01-21}}</ref>

=== Guinea pig ===
The origin of "guinea" in "guinea pig" is hard to explain. One proposed explanation is that the animals were brought to Europe by way of [[Guinea (region)|Guinea]], leading people to think they had originated there.{{sfn|Wagner|Manning|1976|p=2}} "Guinea" was also frequently used in English to refer generally to any far-off, unknown country, so the name may be a colorful reference to the [[Exotic pet|animal's exotic origins]].<ref name="dictionary">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Results for "Guinea pig" |dictionary=Dictionary.com |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Guinea%20pig |access-date=2006-08-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Cavy}}</ref>

Another hypothesis suggests the "guinea" in the name is a corruption of "[[The Guianas|Guiana]]", an area in South America.<ref name="dictionary" />{{sfn|Wagner|Manning|1976|pp=2–3}} A common misconception is that they were so named because they were sold for the price of a [[Guinea (British coin)|guinea coin]]. This hypothesis is untenable because the guinea was first struck in England in 1663, and [[William Harvey]] used the term "Ginny-pig" as early as 1653.<ref>{{cite book |last=Harvey |first=William |title=Anatomical exercitations concerning the generation of living creatures to which are added particular discourses of births and of conceptions, &c |year=1653 |page=527}}</ref> Others believe "guinea" may be an alteration of the word [[wikt:coney|coney]] (rabbit); guinea pigs were referred to as "pig coneys" in [[Edward Topsell]]'s 1607 treatise on [[quadrupedalism|quadrupeds]].{{sfn|Wagner|Manning|1976|p=2}}

How the animals came to be called "pigs" is not clear. They are built somewhat like pigs, with large heads relative to their bodies, stout necks, and rounded rumps with no tail of any consequence; some of the sounds they emit are very similar to those made by pigs, and they spend a large amount of time eating.{{sfn|Wagner|Manning|1976|p=2}}{{sfn|Terril|Clemons|1998|p=2}} They can survive for long periods in small quarters, like a "pig pen", and were easily transported by ship to Europe.{{sfn|Wagner|Manning|1976|p=2}}

=== Other languages ===
Guinea pigs are called ''{{lang|qu|quwi}}'' or ''{{lang|qu|jaca}}'' in [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]] and {{lang|es|cuy}} or {{lang|es|cuyo}} (plural ''cuyes, cuyos'') in the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.<ref name="diccionario">{{cite web |title=Diccionario de la Lengua Española |url=http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/ |access-date=2007-03-12 |publisher=Real Academia Española |language=es}}</ref>

The animal's name alludes to pigs in many European languages. The [[German language|German]] word for them is {{lang|de|Meerschweinchen}}, literally "little sea pig", in [[Polish language|Polish]] they are called {{lang|pl|świnka morska}}, in [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] as {{lang|hu|tengerimalac}}, and in {{Langx|ru|морская свинка|translit=morskaya svinka}}. The German word derives from the [[Middle High German]] name ''Merswin''. This word originally meant "[[dolphin]]" and was used because of the animals' grunting sounds (which were thought to be similar).<ref>Duden – ''Deutsches Universalwörterbuch''. 4. Aufl. Mannheim 2001. [CD-ROM]</ref>

Many other, possibly less scientifically based, explanations of the German name exist. For example, sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the [[New World]] would pick up guinea pig stores, providing an easily transportable source of fresh meat. The [[French language|French]] term is ''[[wikt:fr:cavia|cochon d'Inde]]'' (Indian pig), or ''cobaye''; the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] called it ''[[wikt:nl:cavia|Guinees biggetje]]'' (Guinean piglet), or cavia (in some Dutch dialects it is called {{lang|nl|Spaanse rat}}); and in Portuguese, the guinea pig is variously referred to as ''[[wikt:pt:cobaia|cobaia]]'', from the [[Tupian languages|Tupi]] word via its Latinization, or as {{lang|pt|porquinho da Índia}} (little Indian pig). This association with pigs is not universal among European terms; for example, the common word in Spanish is ''[[wikt:es:conejillo de Indias|conejillo de Indias]]'' (little rabbit of the Indies).<ref name="diccionario" />

The Chinese refer to the animal as {{lang|zh|豚鼠}} (''túnshǔ'', "pig mouse"), and sometimes as {{lang|zh|荷蘭豬}} (''hélánzhū'', 'Netherlands pig') or {{lang|zh|天竺鼠}} (''tiānzhúshǔ'', "Indian mouse"). The Japanese word for guinea pig is {{lang|ja|モルモット}} ({{Transliteration|ja|morumotto}}), which derives from the name of another mountain-dwelling rodent, the [[marmot]]. This word is how the guinea pigs were called by Dutch traders, who first brought them to [[Nagasaki]] in 1843. The other, and less common, Japanese word for guinea pig, using kanji, is 天竺鼠 (てんじくねずみ or {{Transliteration|ja|tenjiku-nezumi}}), which translates as "India rat".<ref>{{Cite web |title=tenjiku-nezumi – Meaning in Japanese {{!}} 天竺鼠 – Names of Animals in Japanese |url=https://animals.japanesewithanime.com/animals/tenjikunezumi |access-date=2018-09-15 |website=animals.japanesewithanime.com |language=en-us}}</ref>