词汇 | penguin |
词源 | penguin. Though the penguin has a black head, its name de- rives from Welsh words meaning “white head”: pen, “head,” and gwyn, “white.” Welsh sailors were responsible for this odd christening when they gave the name penguin to the great auk, a flightless bird with white spots on its head that was common on North Atlantic islands in the 16th century. For some un- known reason sailors in other oceans later transferred the name penguin to the flightless bird so named today. |
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