cobaya

Likely from Old Tupi çabuia, sabuia with loss of the initial cedilla. Compare Portuguese cobaia.

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• Rhymes: -aʝa
• Syllabification: co‧ba‧ya

cobaya f or m (plural cobayas)

1. (zoology) guinea pig (animal)

   Synonyms: cobayo, conejillo de Indias, curí, cuy

2. (cooking) guinea pig meat, eaten in many parts of Latin America
3. (figuratively) guinea pig (person used for experimentation)

• “cobaya”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 23rd edition, Royal Spanish Academy, 2014 October 16