opossum

See also: Opossum

English

Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-

Proto-Algonquian *aθemwa

Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa

Powhatan aposoumbor.

English opossum

From Powhatan aposoum (“white animal”), from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa (“white dog”); compare Ojibwe waabasim (“white dog”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /əˈpɒsəm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) enPR: ə-päsʹəm, IPA^(key): /əˈpɑsəm/ or in abbreviated form like possum, as /ˈpɑsəm/
• Hyphenation: o‧pos‧sum

Noun

opossum (plural opossums)

2. Any American marsupial of the family Didelphidae in the order Didelphimorphia.

Synonyms

• didelphid
• possum (US)

Derived terms

• colocolo opossums (Dromiciops spp.)
• eastern opossum
• gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica)
• mouse opossums
• opossum mouse (Cercartetus nanus)
• opossum rat (Rattus marmosurus)
• opossum shrimps (order Mysida)
• opossum wood
• shrew opossums (family Caenolestidae)
• water opossum
• water opossum (Chironectes minimus)
• woolly mouse opossums (Marmosa (Micoureus))
• woolly opossums (Caluromys spp.)

Descendants

• → Catalan: opòssum
• → Finnish: opossumi
• → Irish: apasam
• → Welsh: oposwm

Translations

marsupial of the Didelphidae

• Alawa: gudjaɳi
• Arabic: أُوبُسُوم m (ʔubusum)
• Asturian: zarigüeya (ast)
• Basque: zarigueia
• Bulgarian: опо́сум (opósum)
• Catalan: sariga f, opòssum m
• Central Atlas Tamazight: ⴰⵖⴻⵔⵙⵉⵡ (aɣersiw)
• Cherokee: ᏏᏆ ᎤᏤᏣᏍᏗ (siqua utsetsasdi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 負鼠 / 负鼠 (zh) (fùshǔ)

• Czech: vačice (cs) f
• Danish: opossum c, pungrotte c
• Dutch: opossum (nl) m, Amerikaanse buidelrat f
• Erzya: ашопине (ašopine)
• Esperanto: oposumo, didelfo
• Finnish: opossumi (fi)
• Fox: êyênîha
• French: sarigue (fr) f, opossum (fr) m, rat de bois m (Louisiana)
• Gagadu: mɔɳɔ
• Georgian: ოპოსუმისებრნი (oṗosumisebrni)
• German: Beutelratte f, Opossum (de) n
• Greek: οπόσουμ (el) n (opósoum)
• Hebrew: אופוסום (opossum)
• Hungarian: oposszum (hu)
• Icelandic: pokarotta f
• Ido: didelfo (io)
• Irish: apasam m
• Italian: opossum (it) m, sariga (it) f
• Japanese: オポッサム (ja) (opossamu), 袋鼠 (ja) (fukuronezumi), フクロネズミ
• Korean: 주머니쥐 (jumeonijwi)
• Lithuanian: oposumai
• Miami: aayeeliiwa, eeyeelia
• Nanticoke: nah!simmini
• Navajo: biyázhí neiyéhé
• Norwegian: pungrotte f
• Nyunga: goomal
• Occitan: sariga f
• Ojibwe: bengwajishk anim, aayenii anim ("PO"), aayeniinh anim ("PO"), eyenii (Northeastern) ^{(please verify)} ayaanii
• Old Tupi: taîyby (male), sarigûeîa (female)
• Osage: sį́štaa
• Paraguayan Guarani: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: صاریغ (fa) (sâriġ)
• Polish: opos (pl) m, dydelf (pl) m
• Portuguese: gambá (pt) m, cuíca (pt) f, opossum m, sariguê, mucura f, saruê m
• Potawatomi: ayéni
• Quechua: q'ara chupa
• Romanian: oposum (ro) m, (rare) sarigă f
• Russian: опо́ссум (ru) m (opóssum)
• Saramaccan: kpátíwójo
• Spanish: (especially formal or scientific usage) zarigüeya (es) f, (Bolivia) carachupa (es) f, (Colombia) chucha (es) f, (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay) comadreja (es) f, (Venezuelan Andes) faro (es) m, (Peru) muca (es) f, (Venezuelan standard usage) rabipelado m, (Ecuador) raposa f, (Honduras) tacuacín m, (El Salvador, Guatemala) tacuazín m, (Mexico) tlacuache (es) m, (Panama) zorra (es) f, (Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Yucatán) zorro (es) m, (Nicaragua) zorro cola pelada m, (Costa Rica) zorro pelón m, tlacoache m, runcho (es) m (Colombia)
• Swahili: kifaurongo
• Swedish: pungråtta (sv) c
• Tagalog: sarigweya
• Teribe: slon
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: keseli sıçan
• Ukrainian: опо́сум m (opósum)
• Unami: òpinkw
• Vietnamese: ô-pốt-sâm, thú ô-pốt
• Welsh: oposwm m
• Yiddish: אָפּאָסום m (oposum)
• Yucatec Maya: ooch sg

See also

• yapok

Further reading

• “opossum”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Didelphidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Category:Didelphidae on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

Corsican

Un opossum.

Etymology

Borrowed from English opossum, from Powhatan aposoum (“white animal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oˈposːum/

Noun

opossum m (plural opossi)

1. opossum

References

• “opossum”, in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa [Database of the Corsican language], 1999-

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English opossum, from Powhatan aposoum (“white animal”), from Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa (“white dog”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌoːˈpɔ.sʏm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: opos‧sum

Noun

opossum m (plural opossums, diminutive opossumpje n)

1. opossum, marsupial of the family Didelphidae

   Synonyms: buidelrat, (obsolete) buideldier

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.pɔ.sɔm/

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Noun

opossum m (plural opossums)

1. opossum

   Synonyms: sarigue; (Louisiana) rat de bois

Further reading

• “opossum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012