Many Arabic animal names trace their roots to classical poetry or medieval natural histories. Our Arabic word of the week, however, is a relatively recent addition.
Batreeq, the standard modern term for penguin, is generally regarded by linguists as an Arabised loanword shaped by contact with European languages. Arabic does not contain a “p” sound, which is typically replaced with “b”. Over time, the word has settled into Modern Standard Arabic, sounding familiar despite its foreign origin.
Classical Arabic dictionaries do not list penguins, for a simple reason: early Arab scholars catalogued animals they encountered in Arabia, North Africa and surrounding regions. Creatures of the Antarctic and southern oceans were far beyond their geographical and imaginative horizons. Penguins entered Arabic vocabulary much later, notably in the late 19th and 20th centuries, as scientific texts, school curriculums and nature encyclopedias were translated into Arabic. In its plural form, batreeq becomes batariq.
There is no evidence that penguins have ever lived in the wild in any Arab country. Their natural range is almost entirely confined to the Southern Hemisphere, including Antarctica, southern Africa, Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America. Even the African penguin, often cited as the species living closest to the Arab world, inhabits only the southern coasts of South Africa and Namibia. Any penguins seen in Arab countries today appear exclusively in controlled environments, such as zoos or aquariums.
Despite this geographical distance, the batreeq has found a warm place in Arabic popular culture. In children’s books, school materials and dubbed animated films, penguins are often portrayed as sociable, co-operative and gently humorous. These characterisations draw on real behavioural traits, including communal nesting and shared parenting, which translate easily into moral lessons about teamwork and resilience. For many Arabic speakers who grew up watching dubbed versions of Batman cartoons, batreeq is associated with the villain character The Penguin, giving the word a darker association.
Penguins themselves lead highly social, ocean-centred lives. There are around 18 recognised species worldwide, with the greatest concentrations along the Antarctic coast and sub-Antarctic islands. The emperor penguin, the largest species, breeds during the Antarctic winter, with males famously incubating eggs on their feet through months of darkness and extreme cold.
Penguins spend much of their lives at sea, where their streamlined bodies make them agile swimmers capable of diving hundreds of metres in search of fish, squid and krill. Despite their clumsy appearance on land, they are among the most efficient swimmers in the bird world.
Ultimately, batreeq illustrates Arabic’s capacity to name and describe a rapidly widening world. Even an animal native to distant, icy seas has been given a suitable name.
