This perception of pigginess occurred in many languages other than English ; the German word for them is Meerschweinchen , literally `` Little Sea Pigs '' ( sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs , which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat ) , the Russian and Polish word for them is similar , `` morskaya svinka '' ( Ð Ð 3\/4 Ñ Ñ Ð Ð Ñ Ñ Ð Ð Ð 1\/2 Ð Ð ) and '' Å winka morska '' respectively , meaning also `` Little Sea Pig '' ( it comes from archaic use of the word to mean `` overseas '' ) . The German word for them is Meerschweinchen , literally `` sea piglet '' , which has been translated into Polish as Å winka morska , into Hungarian as tengerimalac and into Russian as Ð 1\/4 Ð 3\/4 Ñ Ñ Ð Ð Ñ Ñ Ð Ð Ð 1\/2 Ð Ð . This derives from nautical history : sailing ships stopping to reprovision in the New World would pick up stores of guinea pigs , which provided an easily transportable source of fresh meat .