NEWSLETTER 580: SATURDAY 22 MARCH 2008 1. Feedback, notes and
comments Pinguescence Several readers asked whether the penguin
might have got its name from the same source, Latin pinguis,
fat. The word history of penguin is very confused and uncertain,
with one favoured origin being from Welsh (or perhaps Breton)
words meaning “white head”. This is said to have originally been
given to the great auk in the northern hemisphere (since it had
large white spots in front of its eyes) and then later applied
to the penguin in the southern. The recent revision of the entry
in the online OED runs to nearly 1,000 words of etymological
speculation without coming to any very definite conclusion; an
origin in pinguis is said to be possible, however. There is
supporting linguistic evidence for this as well as the fact that
great auks and penguins were hunted for their fat. A kind of bun
or small cake made of fine flour. On Good Friday 1664, Samuel
Pepys recorded in his diary, “Home to the only Lenten supper I
have had of wi