Thursday 20 August 2020

The History of Wales



"Infinite were the Numbers of the foule, the Welsh men name Pengwin".

This is an entry dated 20th August 1578 from the logbook of Sir Francis Drake on board the Golden Hind as he sailed through the Magellan Strait, during his famous circumnavigation of the World. It gives the first record for the use of the word 'penguin'. Welsh crew members constructed the word from the Welsh words for white head, namely pen and gwyn. It is thought that the name was originally applied to an unfamiliar bird (possibly the Great Auk) and later became associated with the penguin.



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