emperor penguin
1
3.2
- noun
- /ˈɛmpərər ˈpɛŋɡwɪn/
:
pingüino emperador
- The emperor penguin is the largest of all penguins, known for its impressive height and distinctive coloration.
How long can an emperor Penguin stay underwater?
- How long can an emperor Penguin stay underwater?
Examples
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In the popular imagination, global warming threatens cold-adapted species, like polar bears and emperor penguins.
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Emperor penguins on ice, or king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) on bare ground, often stand nearly foot to foot among thousands of neighbors when incubating their one egg.
Academic text (2008) -
How long can an emperor Penguin stay underwater?
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The emperor penguin is technically a bird... ...although one that makes his home in the sea.
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"I think these are emperor penguins," Tim announced.
Fiction book (1999) -
In the far south, emperor penguins gather in vast numbers at the ice edge.
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The emperor penguin colony in 2006 bred in the same location as in other years, on the shore-fast sea ice behind two small islands.
Academic text (2008) -
I remembered reading about the emperor penguins of Antarctica and how they sat on their eggs for weeks in the lonely sub-zero darkness, never knowing if they would hatch.
Fiction book (1991) -
Crossing the ice-bound Weddell Sea, John will take us to the ice edge of the continent of Antarctica to observe the emperor penguins in their habitat.
Academic text (2006) -
In the southern hemisphere winter, when emperor penguins huddle together against the biting cold, ice on the sea around Antarctica has been increasing since the late 1970s, perhaps because climate change means shifts in winds, sea currents, or snowfall.
Blog text (25)
Synonyms
A very large penguin that lives and breeds on the ice in Antarctica
Surface Forms
Morphology
emperor + penguin
The compound is compositionally clear in that 'emperor' modifies 'penguin', so a learner who knows both words will infer it denotes a particular kind of penguin. However, the specific encyclopedic details (that it is the largest species and native to Antarctica) are not predictable from the constituents alone, so full meaning requires prior exposure. Cross-linguistically many languages use an equivalent compound (e.g. French manchot empereur), supporting partial but not complete transparency.
Etymology
Emperor penguin comes from the bird's large size and its tall, proud way of standing. People thought it looked like an emperor wearing a dark coat, so the name helps you remember it as the largest, most 'royal' penguin.