Nearby Words

marsupial

[mahr-soo-pee-uhl] Example Sentences Origin

mar·su·pi·al

[mahr-soo-pee-uhl]
noun
1.
any viviparous, nonplacental mammal of the order Marsupialia, comprising the opossums, kangaroos, wombats, and bandicoots, the females of most species having a marsupium containing the mammary glands and serving as a receptacle for the young.
adjective
2.
pertaining to, resembling, or having a marsupium.
3.
of or pertaining to the marsupials.

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Marsupial is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

Origin:
1690–1700; < Neo-Latin marsupiālis pertaining to a pouch. See marsupium, -al1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Example Sentences
  • These were marsupial nachos for trailblazing diners, but they were more interesting in theory than in reality.
  • Today's placental and marsupial mammals range in form from mice and whales to koalas and kangaroos.
  • Find the largest kangaroo, and the largest marsupial on the planet, is a male red kangaroo.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
marsupial (mɑːˈsjuːpɪəl, -ˈsuː-)
 
n
1.  any mammal of the order Marsupialia, in which the young are born in an immature state and continue development in the marsupium. The order occurs mainly in Australia and South and Central America and includes the opossums, bandicoots, koala, wombats, and kangaroos
 
adj
2.  of, relating to, or belonging to the Marsupialia
3.  of or relating to a marsupium
 
[C17: see marsupium]
 
marsupialian
 
n, —adj
 
mar'supian
 
n, —adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

marsupial
1696, from Mod.L. marsupialis "having a pouch," coined from L.L. marsupium "pouch, purse," L. marsuppium, from Gk. marsipion, dim. of marsipos "pouch," of foreign, possibly oriental, origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
marsupial   (mär-s'pē-əl)  Pronunciation Key 
Any of various mammals of the order Marsupialia, whose young are very undeveloped when born and continue developing outside their mother's body attached to one of her nipples. Most marsupials have longer hindlegs than forelimbs, and the females usually have pouches in which they carry their young. Kangaroos, opossums, and koalas are marsupials.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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