penguin

Meaning

Noun

• 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.
• An auk (sometimes especially a great auk), a bird of the Northern Hemisphere.
• A nun (association through appearance, because of the often black-and-white habit).
• 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 (species).
• A member of the air force who does not fly aircraft.

Origin

• Unknown; 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, or from Latin pinguis ("fat"). See citations and the Wikipedia page.