Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny of several flightless sea birds, of the family Spheniscidae within the order Sphenisciformes, found in the Southern Hemisphere, marked by their usual upright stance, walking on short legs, and (generally) their stark black and white plumage.
nounAn auk (sometimes especially a great auk), a bird of the Northern Hemisphere.
Sentence Examples
This baby penguin is too cute!
The penguin was expelled from the group.
A penguin is a bird that cannot fly.
CEFR Practice Quiz
At the zoo, the children watched the ____ waddle across the icy rock.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ waddled across the ice and slid into the freezing water to hunt for fish.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Celtic *kʷennom
Proto-Brythonic *penn
Welsh pen?
Proto-Indo-European *weyd-der.?
Proto-Celtic *windos
Proto-Brythonic *gwɨnn
Welsh gwyn?
Proto-Indo-European *peyh₂-der.
Proto-Indo-European *bʰenǵʰ-influ.?
Latin pinguisder.?
English penguin
Uncertain. First attested in the 16th century in reference to the auk of the Northern hemisphere; the word was later applied to the superficially similar birds of the Southern hemisphere (as was woggin). Possibly from Welsh pen (“head”) and gwyn (“white”), or from Latin pinguis (“fat”). See citations and the Wikipedia article.
Noun sense 3 originates from the often black-and-white habit worn by nuns, which resemble the bird's colors.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Here are also birds cal'd Pen-gwins (white-head in Welch) like Pigmies walking upright, their finns or wings hanging very orderly downe like sleeves […]"
— 1638, Thomas Herbert, Some Yeares Travels, section I:
"This last species of penguin, or auk, seems to be the same with the alca cirrhata of Dr. Pallis, Spicileg. Zool. Fasc. v. p. 7. tab. i. & v. fig. 1–3. F."
— 1772 March, “Account of the Settlement of the Malouines”, in The Gentleman's and London Magazine, page 166:
"More than a hundred years ago, for example, was seen the last of the great wingless penguins or auks, which early writers quaintly called " wobble-birds.""
— 1885, Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York:
"Jake (John Belushi): What are we doing here?
Elwood (Dan Aykroyd): You promised you'd visit the penguin the day you got out.
Jake: Yeah. So, I lied to her.
Elwood:You can't lie to a nun. We gotta go in and visit the penguin."
— 1980, Dan Aykroyd, The Blues Brothers (motion picture):
"Although it is a permanent R.A.F. station (pre-war, that is), we meander about, even in the Mess, in battle dress and flying boots, sweaters, etc., much to the disgust of some of the more dignified 'penguins' […]"
— 1942, Hermann Hagedorn, Sunward I've Climbed, page 143: