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PENGUIN
penguin
(noun) short-legged flightless birds of cold southern especially Antarctic regions having webbed feet and wings modified as flippers
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
penguin (plural penguins)
Any of several flightless sea birds, of 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. [from 16th c.]
(obsolete or historical) An auk (sometimes especially a great auk), a bird of the Northern Hemisphere.
(slang) A nun (association through appearance, because of the black and white habit).
(juggling) A type of catch where the palm of the hand is facing towards the leg with the arm stretched downward, resembling the flipper of a penguin.
A spiny bromeliad with egg-shaped fleshy fruit, Bromelia pinguin.
Source: Wiktionary
Pen"guin, n. Etym: [Perh. orig. the name of another bird, and fr. W. pen head + gwyn white; or perh. from a native South American name.]
1. (Zoöl.)
Definition: Any bird of the order Impennes, or Ptilopteri. They are covered with short, thick feathers, almost scalelike on the wings, which are without true quills. They are unable to fly, but use their wings to aid in diving, in which they are very expert. See King penguin, under Jackass.
Note: Penguins are found in the south temperate and antarctic regions. The king penguins (Aptenodytes Patachonica, and A. longirostris) are the largest; the jackass penguins (Spheniscus) and the rock hoppers (Catarractes) congregate in large numbers at their breeding grounds.
2. (Bot.)
Definition: The egg-shaped fleshy fruit of a West Indian plant (Bromelia Pinguin) of the Pineapple family; also, the plant itself, which has rigid, pointed, and spiny-toothed leaves, and is used for hedges. [Written also pinguin.] Arctic penguin (Zoöl.), the great auk. See Auk.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
4 June 2025
LEND
(verb) bestow a quality on; “Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company”; “The music added a lot to the play”; “She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings”; “This adds a light note to the program”
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