possum

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pos·sum

(pŏs′əm)

1. Chiefly Southern US An opossum. See Note at tater.

2. Any of several nocturnal arboreal marsupials of the suborder Phalangeriformes, native to Australia and adjacent islands and introduced elsewhere.

[Short for opossum.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

possum

(ˈpɒsəm)

1. (Animals) an informal name for opossum¹

2. (Animals) Also called: phalanger Austral and NZ any of various Australasian arboreal marsupials, such as Trichosurus vulpecula (brush-tailed phalanger), having dense fur and a long tail: family Phalangeridae

3. play possum to pretend to be dead, ignorant, asleep, etc, in order to deceive an opponent

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pos•sum

(ˈpɒs əm)

n., pl. -sums, (esp. collectively) -sum.

1. opossum.

2. any of many marsupials of the families Phalangeridae, Petauridae, and Burramidae, of Australia and neighboring islands.

Idioms:

play possum, to feign sleep or death.

[1725–35]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	possum - nocturnal arboreal marsupial having a naked prehensile tail found from southern North America to northern South America opossum marsupial, pouched mammal - mammals of which the females have a pouch (the marsupium) containing the teats where the young are fed and carried Didelphidae, family Didelphidae - opossums common opossum, Didelphis marsupialis, Didelphis virginiana - omnivorous opossum of the eastern United States; noted for feigning death when in danger; esteemed as food in some areas; considered same species as the crab-eating opossum of South America crab-eating opossum - South American opossum
	2.	possum - small furry Australian arboreal marsupials having long usually prehensile tails opossum, phalanger marsupial, pouched mammal - mammals of which the females have a pouch (the marsupium) containing the teats where the young are fed and carried family Phalangeridae, Phalangeridae - phalangers; koalas cuscus - woolly-haired monkey-like arboreal marsupial of New Guinea and northern Australia brush-tailed phalanger, Trichosurus vulpecula - bushy-tailed phalanger flying opossum, flying phalanger, flying squirrel - nocturnal phalangers that move with gliding leaps using parachute-like folds of skin along the sides of the body kangaroo bear, koala, koala bear, native bear, Phascolarctos cinereus - sluggish tailless Australian arboreal marsupial with grey furry ears and coat; feeds on eucalyptus leaves and bark

Translations

تَظاهُر بالجَهْل، تَماوُت

vačice

opossumpungrotte

OpossumPossum

apsimesti miegančiamapsimesti negyvam

keseli sıçan

负鼠

possum

[ˈpɒsəm] N (US) → zarigüeya f
to play possum (= sleeping) → fingir estar dormido; (= dead) → hacerse el muerto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

possum

[ˈpɒsəm] (mainly US) n → opossum m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

possum

n → Opossum nt, → Beutelratte f; to play possum (sleeping) → sich schlafend stellen; (dead) → sich tot stellen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

possum

(ˈposəm) noun

(American) opossum.

play possum

to pretend to be dead or asleep.

References in classic literature ?

He cocked his head to one side, shut one eye and put the other one to the hole, like a possum looking down a jug; then he glanced up with his bright eyes, gave a wink or two with his wings--which signifies gratification, you understand--and says, 'It looks like a hole, it's located like a hole--blamed if I don't believe it IS a hole!'

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He's about as big as a big 'possum, and his face is striped, black and white.

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Never imposing upon any one myself, I suffered no one to play the possum with me.

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Talk of the liberty of the treed possum, but do not use the word in connexion with a man bottled up in an office, with Roland Bean guarding the only exit.

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Those tangy frosty afternoons, when he had been forced to clean barns and plow while the other boys went rabbit and possum hunting or nutting, were afternoons whose loss he still mourned.

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We called them Peggy and Possum. So she's named after the original Peggy."

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* increase in native browsers (wallabies, possums);

Ecological role of large mammalian predators in south-east Australia

I guess the possums weren't the only ones worried about being eaten.

Ode to the opossum: Backyard visitor, nature's omnivore

Johnson believes it is most likely the bacteria that causes the ulcer, Mycobacterium ulcerans, is being spread by mosquitos and possums. His research team caught a large number of mosquitos in affected areas and found a small proportion did carry the bacteria.

Flesh-eating ulcer spreading rapidly in Australia

Brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula are arboreal marsupials that remain in many urbanised areas of Australia, as well as in bushland.

Parasitic infections of brushtail possums Trichosurus vulpecula in urbanised environments and bushland in the greater Perth region, Western Australia

The Possums warmly thank their fantastic support crew at ACF and sponsors, especially Carlton's Lincoln Hotel and Harley House Osteopathy.