DisputedOrigin is disputed
guinea pig
noun · first attested 17th century
An Andean rodent named for West Africa and sold to Europeans as a pig.
A tailless South American rodent kept as a pet and long used as a test animal.
Record
- Relationship
- Origin is disputed
- Confidence
- DisputedCompeting explanations remain live.
- Attested
- 17th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Guinea
- In English
guinea pig
The animal reached Europe from the Andes on ships that also worked the Guinea trade, and the explanations compete: the African coast, the Guiana coast, or the guinea coin it supposedly cost. None has been settled, and the pig half is only a nod to its squeal and its shape.
Also pinned to Guinea