Main Entry:

pen·guin

Pronunciation:

\ˈpen-gwən, ˈpeŋ-\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

obsolete English penguin great auk, perhaps from Welsh pen gwyn white head (applied to the bird in winter plumage)

Date:

1588

: any of various erect short-legged flightless aquatic birds (family Spheniscidae) of the southern hemisphere