cobaya

Spanish

Dos cobayas.

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /koˈbaʝa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay) /koˈbaʝa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʝa]
• IPA^(key): (Buenos Aires and environs) /koˈbaʃa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʃa]
• IPA^(key): (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay) /koˈbaʒa/ [koˈβ̞a.ʒa]

• Audio (Spain):

  (file)

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

Noun

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)

Further reading

• “cobaya”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10