51Թ

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opossum

[uh-pos-uhm, pos-uhm]

noun

plural

opossums 
,

plural

opossum .
  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

/ əˈɒə /

noun

  1. Sometimes (informal) shortened to: possum.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

  2. Also called (Austral and NZ): possum.any of various similar animals, esp the phalanger, Trichosurus vulpecula, of the New Zealand bush

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of opossum1

First recorded in 1600–10, from Virginia Algonquian ( English spelling) opassom, opussum, aposoum (equivalent to Proto-Algonquian (unattested) ɲ˙- “white” + (unattested) -ʔθ𳾷- “dDz”)
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of opossum1

C17: from Algonquian aposoum; related to Delaware äܳ, literally: white beast
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

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

Officials said one pair had items that would aid them in carrying out thefts — as well as, strangely, wild opossums.

From

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

From

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

From

“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

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Oportoopossum block