possum

[ pos-uhm ]

noun

1. opossum.
2. Australian. any of various phalangers, especially of the genus Trichosurus.

possum

/ ˈpɒsəm /

noun

1. See opossum
   an informal name for opossum
2. Also calledphalanger any of various Australasian arboreal marsupials, such as Trichosurus vulpecula ( brush-tailed phalanger ), having dense fur and a long tail: family Phalangeridae
3. play possum
   play possum to pretend to be dead, ignorant, asleep, etc, in order to deceive an opponent

Word History and Origins

Origin of possum¹

1605–15, Americanism; short for opossum

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. play possum, Informal.
   1. to feign sleep or death.
   2. to dissemble or pretend ignorance:

      The baseball broke the window, but the children played possum when asked who had thrown it.

More idioms and phrases containing possum

see play possum .

Example Sentences

He also started keeping bees and raising chickens, and soon raccoons and possums discovered the chickens and Peter began running outside in his underwear in the middle of the night when he heard the chickens scream.

From ProPublica

I think it’s interesting that people at the time thought the possum incident would be forgotten in a few weeks.

From Washington Post

Witnesses at the time claimed that five police cars were sitting in the parking lot, but three left when they saw the dead possums.

From Washington Post

Regardless of the election results, Raiford says, she’ll continue her activism, buoyed by incidents like the possums at Burger Barn and her nephew’s death.

From Washington Post

Two hours east of Dallas, sun-drenched granite cliffs loom high above the cloudy waters of Possum Kingdom Lake.

From The Daily Beast

He was also called “Possum,” because he looked like one, especially when he grinned.

From The Daily Beast

Congress has been a dull place since he and his possum-shaped wig left for federal prison.

From The Daily Beast

Why not, he asked himself, "play possum" with the man and the dog, and pretend to be badly hurt and unconscious?

From Project Gutenberg

It's more of a coma, something like the hibernation of a bear or a possum.

From Project Gutenberg

Bruno, satis admirari non possum quid agas vt tot pecunias consumas.

From Project Gutenberg

Davey slept peacefully on the bed among the grey 'possum furs she had wrapped round him.

From Project Gutenberg

"Showing him the ring-tail 'possum's nest in the tree at the back of the cow-yard," she said eagerly.

From Project Gutenberg

What Is The Plural Of Possum?

Plural word for possum

The plural form of possum is possums. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -um are also formed in this way, including museum/museums and drum/drums.

Possum is pluralized in the regular, or standard, way of adding an -s to the end of the word.

In some nouns that end in -um that are derived from Latin, the irregular plural ending -a may be used instead, as in memorandum/memoranda and curriculum/curricula. These nouns are considered irregular nouns. 

However, the -a ending isn’t valid for possum, because the word derives from the Virginia Algonquian term (with English spelling) opussum. Possa would be an invalid plural for possum.