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

Kiyonari says his team is looking for other ways to tweak opossum genes to study the animals’ organ development.

From MIT Technology Review

The researchers had to navigate a few hurdles to edit the opossum genome.

From MIT Technology Review

Another interesting characteristic of opossums is that they are born after only 14 days, as barely more than balls of cells with forearms to help them crawl onto their mother’s chest.

From MIT Technology Review

A team of researchers at Japan’s Riken Institute, a national research facility, have used the technology to edit the genes of a South American species of opossum.

From MIT Technology Review

By changing when the lights turned off in the labs, researchers got the opossums to mate later in the evening so that the eggs would be ready to work with in the morning, about a day and a half later.

From MIT Technology Review

This little animal, the smallest and most beautiful of the opossum tribe, is exceedingly numerous in the vicinity of Port Jackson.

From Project Gutenberg

The parts of generation of the male and female marmose resemble, by their form and their position, those of the opossum.

From Project Gutenberg

Meantime Jacky had killed his opossum and was now following their trail at an easy trot.

From Project Gutenberg

I carried mine in my long, luxuriant hair, which I wore “bun” fashion, held in a net of opossum hair.

From Project Gutenberg

They also busied themselves in making garments of various kinds from opossum skins.

From Project Gutenberg