noun
opossum
uh-PAH-sum/əˈpɑːsəm/
A nocturnal American marsupial with a pointed snout and a grasping tail.
The opossum has a pointed pale snout and a long, hairless tail.
Etymology
Powhatan opassum named this marsupial. The source describes it as equivalent to an ancestral Algonquian term meaning “white dog,” rather than supplying separate Powhatan roots for those meanings.
In context
then we have our opossum which is our marsupial so they give birth to very underdeveloped offspring and they go in a pouch
More examples
- The opossum grips a branch with its tail.
- Young opossums ride on their mother's back.
- We spot an opossum near the compost pile.
Forms
opossum · opossums
Similar words
- possum
- An informal name for the same animal in American English.