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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.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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