/ əˈpɒsəm; NAmE əˈpɑːs-/ ( AustralE , NZE or NAmE informal pos·sum ) noun
a small American or Australian animal that lives in trees and carries its young in a pouch (= a pocket of skin on the front of the mother's body)
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WORD ORIGIN
early 17th cent.: from Virginia Algonquian opassom , from op white + assom dog.