opossum

[ uh-pos-uhm, pos-uhm ]

noun

, plural o·pos·sums, (especially collectively) o·pos·sum.

1. a prehensile-tailed marsupial, Didelphis virginiana, of the eastern U.S., the female having an abdominal pouch in which its young are carried: noted for the habit of feigning death when in danger.
2. any of various animals of related genera.

opossum

/ əˈpɒsəm /

noun

1. any thick-furred marsupial, esp Didelphis marsupialis ( common opossum ), of the family Didelphidae of S North, Central, and South America, having an elongated snout and a hairless prehensile tail Sometimes (informal) shortened topossum
2. Also called (Austral and NZ)possum any of various similar animals, esp the phalanger, Trichosurus vulpecula, of the New Zealand bush

Word History and Origins

Origin of opossum¹

First recorded in 1600–10, Americanism; from Virginia Algonquian ( English spelling) opassom, opussum, aposoum (equivalent to Proto-Algonquian (unattested) wa˙p- “white” + (unattested) -aʔθemw- “dog”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of opossum¹

C17: from Algonquian aposoum; related to Delaware apässum, literally: white beast

Example Sentences

The noises were no stray opossum or raccoon but a man — reportedly naked and, authorities said, living in the crawl space underneath the woman’s home.

From Los Angeles Times

A beaver’s tail creates a rhythm on the deck and an opossum has a bass fashioned out of a gourd.

From Los Angeles Times

Today, there are only three survivors: the nine-banded armadillo, the Virginia opossum and the North American porcupine.

From Science Daily

The demolished deer, the obliterated opossum, the wrecked raccoon: This is the detritus of our human-dominated age.

From Slate

“I would vote for a roadkill opossum if that was a choice over those three,” Mr. Wirebach said of Mr. Biden, Mr. Trump and the independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

From New York Times