opossum
nounUK /əˈpɒsəm/ · US /əˈpɑsəm/
Etymology From Powhatan aposoum (“white animal”), from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa (“white dog”); compare Ojibwe waabasim (“white dog”).
1
Any American marsupial of the family Didelphidae in the order Didelphimorphia.
- Derived terms
- colocolo opossum, eastern opossum, gray short-tailed opossum, mouse opossum, opossum mouse, opossum rat, opossum shrimp, shrew opossum, water opossum, woolly mouse opossum, woolly opossum
- Related terms
- yapok