Definition of: opossum

(ə·pos′əm, pos′əm) noun
An American marsupial (genus Didelphis) of largely arboreal and nocturnal habits, having a prehensile tail and feet adapted for grasping: popularly called possum. The common (or Virginia) opossum (D. virginiana), which ranges from the central United States to Brazil, has a soft, whitish–gray pelage, with black ears and feet, and is esteemed as food. It is noted for its trick of feigning death, or playing possum, when threatened with danger. [<Algonquian (Virginian) apasum, lit., a white beast]