Definitions
short-legged flightless birds of cold southern especially Antarctic regions having webbed feet and wings modified as flippers
Word origin
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.
Used in a sentence
“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 […]”
“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.”
“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."”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer3 curated clues
01“Flightless polar bird”7 letters
02“Waddling flightless bird”7 letters
03“Flightless seabird”7 letters
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