opossum

Etymology

From Powhatan aposoum (“white animal”), from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa (“white dog”); compare Ojibwe waabasim (“white dog”).

Sometimes falsely attributed to a Latin origin, as if from *oppossum; confer actual Latin possum (“I am able, I can”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈpɒsəm/
• (US) enPR: ə-päsʹəm, IPA^(key): /əˈpɑsəm/^[1][2][3] or (rarely) like possum, as /ˈpɑsəm/^[1][2]
• Hyphenation: o‧pos‧sum

Noun

opossum (plural opossums)

1. Any American marsupial of the family Didelphidae. The common species of the United States is Didelphis virginiana.

References

Further reading

• opossum in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Didelphidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Didelphidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

opossum ? (plural opossums, diminutive opossumpje n)

1. opossum

Noun

opossum m (plural opossums)

1. opossum

Further reading

• “opossum” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).