The scientific name of the common species is Cavia porcellus, with porcellus being Latin for “little pig”. Cavia is New Latin; it is derived from cabiai, the animal’s name in the language of the Galibi tribes once native to French Guiana. Cabiai may be an adaptation of the Portuguese çavia (now savia), which is itself derived from the Tupi word saujá, meaning rat. Guinea pigs are called quwi or jaca in Quechua and cuy or cuyo (plural cuyes, cuyos) in the Spanish of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Ironically, breeders tend to use the more formal “cavy” to describe the animal, while in scientific and laboratory contexts, it is far more commonly referred to by the more colloquial “guinea pig”.