penguin English · revision 1947

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈpɛŋ.ɡwɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is unknown.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It is often said to be from [[cy|pen gwyn|t=white head]],^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) referring to the great auk's white head patch,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) or to a white headland in Newfoundland where great auks were plentiful.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) Barnhart doubts the Welsh link, since these words would have given ''penwyn''.^(Barnhart 1995) French ''pingouin'' and Breton ''pengouin'' were taken from English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The great auk of Newfoundland, now extinct (1578; 1570s in Etymonline).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The name passed in the 1580s to the flightless swimming birds of the Southern Hemisphere, which resemble the great auk;^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989) Drake's expedition saw them in the Strait of Magellan in 1578.^(Etymonline) The great auk itself died out, the last two known birds being killed in 1844,^(Etymonline) and the old sense is obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) In the 20th century ''penguin'' was also used for a non-flying member of an air force and for a ground trainer resembling an aircraft (1915),^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) and, rarely, for a man in evening dress (1967).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1578 – the great auk.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1588 – the Southern Hemisphere bird.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1844 – the last great auks killed.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – an aircraft trainer that cannot fly; a non-flying airman.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1935 – Penguin, the publisher's name.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of various flightless sea birds of the Southern Hemisphere, with flipper-like wings, webbed feet and black-and-white plumage.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' The great auk.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(slang)'' A member of an air force who does not fly.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[Adelie penguin]]

+ * [[chinstrap penguin]]

+ * [[emperor penguin]]

+ * [[jackass penguin]]

+ * [[king penguin]]

+ * [[macaroni penguin]]

+ * [[Magellanic penguin]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[auk]]

+ * [[great auk]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}