pos·sum
Audio Help [pos-uh
m] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [pos-uh
m] Pronunciation Key –noun
—Idiom
| 1. | opossum. |
| 2. | Australian. any of various phalangers, esp. of the genus Trichosurus. |
| 3. | play possum, Informal.
|
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
possum
To learn more about possum visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| pos·sum
Audio Help (pŏs'əm) Pronunciation Key
n. Chiefly Southern U.S. An opossum. [Short for opossum.] Since English is a language that stresses some syllables and not others, weakly stressed syllables, especially those preceding strong stresses, are dropped at times. This process, called aphesis when it occurs at the beginning of a word, is more common in regional American dialects than in the more conservative Standard English, which tends to retain in pronunciation anything reflected in spelling. Although many American dialects feature aphesis, it is most famous in the dialects of the South, where it yields pronunciations such as count of for (on) account of, tater for potato, possum for opossum, and skeeter for mosquito. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
possum
1613, shortened form of opossum (q.v.). Phrase play possum is first recorded 1822.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| possum | |
noun | |
| 1. | nocturnal arboreal marsupial having a naked prehensile tail found from southern North America to northern South America [syn: opossum] |
| 2. | small furry Australian arboreal marsupials having long usually prehensile tails [syn: phalanger] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
possum
see play possum.
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
possum [ˈposəm] noun
(American) opossum
See also: play possum
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Possum
Pos"sum\, n. [Shortened from opossum.] (Zo["o]l.) An opossum. [Colloq. U. S.] To play possum, To act possum, to feign ignorance, indifference or inattention, with the intent to deceive; to dissemble; -- in allusion to the habit of the opossum, which feigns death when attacked or alarmed.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
POSSUM
POSSUM: in Acronym Finder
| Acronym Finder, © 1988-2007 Mountain Data Systems |
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web
Perform a new search, or try your search for "possum" at:
- Amazon.com - Shop for books, music and more
- Reference.com - Encyclopedia Search
- Reference.com - Web Search powered by Google
- Thesaurus.com - Search for synonyms and antonyms














