Guinea pig has been known in our country for a long time. The name of this animal is so firmly entrenched in it that today few people think about why, in fact, "guinea pig" and "pig".
Well, from the sea it is more or less clear - this animal was once brought from overseas, therefore it began to be called overseas, and then just sea. But why this cute rodent, which is not even a distant relative of our pig, was given the name of a pig for many remains a complete mystery.
It is noteworthy that guinea pigs have many different names. We can safely say that in almost every country these animals have contrived to acquire their own name. In France, Spain and Portugal it is an Indian pig, in Belgium it is a mountain pig, and the indigenous people of America called this animal a guinea pig. Despite the difference in geographical terms, the rodent is everywhere called the pig, which undoubtedly indicates the more ancient origin of this name.
There are two official versions of such a strange name for this little animal. According to the first, the similarity with a piglet gives a guinea pig its unusual head shape and a rounded body with small paws. Indeed, for a person who sees this animal for the first time, the pig may be associated with a small suckling pig. The hypothesis is also confirmed by the fact that the indigenous people of America used guinea pigs for food.
There is also a less common version of the origin of the name of these animals. The fact is that when the travelers brought the first pigs to England, they also began to be used for food. The meat was so tender and nutritious that the British quickly fell in love with it and began to be valued on a par with beef and pork. And since the size of the animal's carcass was very small, it received the name "pig for a guinea", which reflected its low cost and excellent taste.
The second theory is much more peaceful and tends to believe that the animal was named a mumps for its characteristic sounds. The snarling of these animals is really somewhat remotely reminiscent of grunting or even a pig's squeal. That's why the guinea pigs became pigs.
