Word
possum
Phoneticspos·sum
US/ˈpɑsəm/
UK/pˈɒsəm/
Definition
n. a small, furry animal with a long tail that lives in trees. It looks a bit like a rat with a long face and lives in parts of North America.
n. a small, arboreal mammal of the family Didelphidae, native to the Americas. Characterised by a long, prehensile tail and a distinctive facial appearance.
Examples
“The possum climbed up the tree to escape the dog.”
“While hiking through the forest, we saw a possum sitting on a branch watching us closely.”
“The possum is often mistaken for a rat, but its unique ability to play dead when threatened makes it a fascinating subject for wildlife researchers.”
Examples
simple
“The possum climbed up the tree to escape the dog.”
contextual
“While hiking through the forest, we saw a possum sitting on a branch watching us closely.”
complex
“The possum is often mistaken for a rat, but its unique ability to play dead when threatened makes it a fascinating subject for wildlife researchers.”
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Algonquian *wa·p- Proto-Algonquian *aθemwa Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa Powhatan aposoumbor. English opossumder. English possum Derived from opossum by apheresis.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
play possum — To feign death; to remain quiet and still to escape attention or remain undetected; to lie low.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/possum