/euh pos"euhm, pos"euhm/ , n. , pl. opossums , ( esp. collectively ) opossum .
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.
Cf. possum .
[ 1600-10, Amer. ; opassom, opussum, aposoum (equiv. to Proto-Algonquian * wa·p- white + * -athemw- dog) ]