opossumn.

Brit.

/əˈpɒsəm/, U.S.

/(ə)ˈpɑs(ə)m/

Forms: 1600s aposoum, 1600s apossoun, 1600s opassom, 1600s opossom, 1600s oppusum, 1600s ouassom (transmission error), 1600s ovassom (transmission error), 1600s–1700s opassum, 1600s– opossum, 1700s oposon, 1700s opposom, 1700s–1800s opposum, 1700s– oppossum, 1900s– o'possum (irregular).

Origin: A borrowing from Virginia Algonquian. Etymon: Virginia Algonquian opassom.

Etymology: < Virginia Algonquian opassom < op- white + -assom dog, doglike animal. Compare French †opassum (1640, probably < English), opossum (1704). Compare possum n.¹

1. Any of various small and moderate-sized marsupials, mostly arboreal, of the mainly neotropical families Didelphidae, Caenolestidae, and Microbiotheriidae, which typically have an opposable thumb on the hind foot and a prehensile and hairless tail; spec. Didelphis virginiana, which is the size of a cat and is found from Central America to south-east Canada. Cf. possum n.¹ 3a.The water opossum, Chironectes, is semiaquatic.mouse, murine, squirrel, water opossum: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Didelphidae (opossum)

ape-fox1594

fox-ape1594

opossum1610

possum1613

cerigo1708

pedimane1835

marsupial rat1863

the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Didelphidae (opossum) > genus Didelphis

opossum1610

sarigue1683

ursine opossum1800

1610 True Declar. Plantation Virginia (1844) 13 There are Arocouns, and Apossouns, in shape like to pigges, shrowded in hollow roots of trees.

1612 J. Smith Map of Virginia 14 An Opassom hath an head like a Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat.

c1612 W. Strachey Hist. Trav. Virginia (1953) i. x. 124 An Oppusum is a beast as big as a pretty Beagle of grey Cullor.

1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 636 [Quoting Smith, 1612] The Ouassom [etc.].

1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi ix. §1. 446 In Virginia there is a beast called Ovassom, which hath a head like a Swine, a tail like a Rat, as big as a Cat, and hath under his belly a bag, wherein they carrie their young.

1694 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 122 An Opossom, as big, and something shaped like our Badgers, but of a lighter Dun colour.

1719 J. Ozell tr. F. M. Misson Mem. Trav. Eng. 280 The Oposon is of the Bigness of a Pig of a Fortnight old.

1763 J. Wesley Compend. Nat. Philos. I. ii. i. §10. 114 The tender young of the Opossum are delicate Morsels.

1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iii. 19 As the young of the oppossum retire into the ventral pouch of the old one.

1806 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chevalier in Gaz. Publ. 329 Racoon, opossum or a bear, Devoid of intellect that are.

1859 W. M. Thackeray Virginians xxxviii Like the fabled opossum..who when he spied the unerring gunner from his gum-tree said ‘It's no use, Major, I will come down.’

1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. vi. 267 Seven species of Opossum have been found, fossil, in caves of Brazil.

1904 G. S. Porter Freckles 255 Crones..eternally sucking a corncob pipe and stirring the endless kettles of stewing coon and opossum.

1949 Sat. Evening Post 25 June 31/1 He reached down, gripped the nape of the trembling opossum and hoisted him gently to the platform.

2001 Times 27 June i. 13/2 In addition to dogs and cats, Presidents have often kept more exotic pets... Herbert Hoover adopted an oppossum.

2. Australian and New Zealand. Any of various other small or moderate-sized arboreal marsupials; spec. = possum n.¹ 3d.zebra-opossum: see zebra n. Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Phalangeridae (phalanger)

phalanger1770

possum1770

rat of Suriname1774

opossum1777

phalangist1835

1777 W. Anderson Jrnl. 30 Jan. in J. Cook Jrnls. (1967) III. ii. 792 The only animal of the Quadruped kind we got was a sort of Opossum about twice the size of a large cat.

1789 A. Phillip Voy. Botany Bay xxii. 297 Black Flying Opossum.

1793 J. Hunter Hist. Jrnl. Trans. Port Jackson iii. 68 The opossum is also very numerous here, but it is not exactly like the American opossum.

1847 F. W. L. Leichhardt Jrnl. Overland Exped. Austral. v. 146 The Black~fellows told us, that they had caught a ring-tailed opossum.

1862 G. T. Lloyd 33 Years Tasmania iv. 47 The large sable and gray opossums, when disturbed, will either await death in their dark nest or at once spring to the earth.

1875 Melbourne Spectator 10 July 118/2 A snow-white opossum has been captured on a tree at the Murray.

1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xvii. 162 Australia, at one time, along with its harmless marsupial kangaroos, opossums..and the rest, had its own beasts of prey.

1944 Living off Land: Man. Bushcraft iii. 57 To improvise a water container, copy the blacks, who used the skins of opossums.

1973 Massey Ferguson Rev. (N.Z.) Mar.–Apr. 8/3 Intensive control measures around the farms by the New Zealand Forest Service and local pest destruction boards have reduced opossum numbers.

1986 Auckland Metro Feb. 19/2 Pohutukawa trees..have fostered undergrowth and in turn..animals, chiefly opossums.

Compounds

C1.

† opossum cloak n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1832 J. Henderson Observ. Colonies New S. Wales & Van Dieman's Land p. xiii We had carried..our oppossum cloaks.

1892 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Nevermore II. 159 Opossum cloaks and wallaby rugs protected him from the searching night air.

† opossum kind n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere III. iii. viii. 626 Of the quadrupeds, I have already mentioned the dog, and particularly described the kanguroo, and the animal of the opossum kind, resembling the phalanger of Buffon.

1811 D. D. Mann Present Picture New S. Wales 49 This animal is of the Opossum kind, having..a false belly.

† opossum pocket n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross xiv. 103 A roomy scarlet coat, with opossum pockets and spoon cuffs.

1862 G. J. Whyte-Melville Inside Bar 343 What I believe Mr. Poole terms the ‘opossum pocket’ of his shooting-jacket.

opossum rug n.

ΚΠ

1841 Port Phillip Patriot (Melbourne) 11 Nov. 2/1 Thomas Arbuthnot, ship, for Calcutta..1 parcel (oppossum rug).

1871 C. L. Money Knocking about in N.Z. 74 A pannikin of tea, or half his blanket or opossum rug, are always at your disposal.

1963 B. Malinowski Family among Austral. Aborigines ii. 37 As a sign the boy's father gives the girl an opossum rug, shows her attention, and gives her ‘nice things to eat’.

opossum skin n.

ΚΠ

1820 J. Oxley Jrnls. Two Exped. New S. Wales 19 They were covered with cloaks made of opossum skins.

1968 Wanganui (N.Z.) Chron. 15 Nov. 10/6 (advt.) Opossum skins. Good prices, wanted immediately for overseas contract.

† opossum tribe n. Obsolete

ΚΠ

1770 J. Banks Jrnl. 26 July (1962) II. 99 In botanizing to-day I had the good fortune to take an animal of the Opossum (Didelphis) tribe.

1888 Littell's Living Age 21 Jan. 188/2 The individuals of this variety are wonderful climbers, and used to wage war on the opossum tribe.

C2.

opossum mouse n. any of various small, mainly nocturnal marsupials of the Australian family Burramyidae; esp. the flying mouse, Acrobates pygmaeus.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Phalangeridae (phalanger) > genus Acrobates (flying mouse)

opossum mouse1832

flying mouse1934

1832 J. Bischoff Sketch Hist. Van Diemen's Land 28 The opossum mouse is about the size of our largest barn mouse.

1894 R. Lydekker Hand-bk. Marsupialia 118 The Flying Mouse, or Opossum Mouse,..is one of the most elegant of the Australian Marsupials.

1926 A. S. Le Souef et al. Wild Animals Australasia 239 The plump opossum-mice.

† opossum-shrew n. Obsolete rare a solenodon.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.

ΚΠ

1890 Cent. Dict. Opossum-shrew, an insectivorous mammal of the genus Solenodon.

opossum tree n. (a) the sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, of the southern U.S. and Central America; †(b) = opossum wood n. (obsolete).

ΚΠ

1876 C. E. Hobbs Bot. Hand-bk. Common Names 84 Opossum tree, Sweet gum tree, Liquidamber styraciflua.

1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Plants Austral. 592 Quintinia Sieberi..‘Opossum Tree’... The timber is heavy, and close-grained.

1960 R. A. Vines Trees, Shrubs, & Woody Vines Southwest 325 Vernacular names are..Opossum-tree..and Star-leaf Gum.

opossum wood n. (a) U.S. the snowdrop tree, Halesia tetraptera; (b) an Australian rainforest tree, Quintinia sieberi (family Saxifragaceae).

ΚΠ

1897 G. B. Sudworth Nomencl. Arborescent Flora U.S. 323 Mohrodendron carolinum... Opossum-wood.

1947 R. H. Anderson Trees New S. Wales (ed. 2) 218 In addition to the Opossum Wood and the Featherwood there are four related species belonging to the same family (Escalloniaceae).

1965 Austral. Encycl. VI. 406/2 Opossum-wood, the usual name for a small eastern rain-forest tree, Quintinia sieberi... The name is supposed to have originated among bushmen, who..likened the peculiar scars in the bark to scars left by the claws of possums.

1987 D. J. Mabberley Plant-bk. 261 Halesia... Cult. orn. decid. shrubs (bell trees) esp. H. tetraptera Ellis (‘H. carolina’, EUS)—snowdrop tree, silver bell, opossumwood, with white drooping flowers.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	opossum
释义	opossumn. Brit. /əˈpɒsəm/, U.S. /(ə)ˈpɑs(ə)m/ Forms: 1600s aposoum, 1600s apossoun, 1600s opassom, 1600s opossom, 1600s oppusum, 1600s ouassom (transmission error), 1600s ovassom (transmission error), 1600s–1700s opassum, 1600s– opossum, 1700s oposon, 1700s opposom, 1700s–1800s opposum, 1700s– oppossum, 1900s– o'possum (irregular). Origin: A borrowing from Virginia Algonquian. Etymon: Virginia Algonquian opassom. Etymology: < Virginia Algonquian opassom < op- white + -assom dog, doglike animal. Compare French †opassum (1640, probably < English), opossum (1704). Compare possum n.¹ 1. Any of various small and moderate-sized marsupials, mostly arboreal, of the mainly neotropical families Didelphidae, Caenolestidae, and Microbiotheriidae, which typically have an opposable thumb on the hind foot and a prehensile and hairless tail; spec. Didelphis virginiana, which is the size of a cat and is found from Central America to south-east Canada. Cf. possum n.¹ 3a.The water opossum, Chironectes, is semiaquatic.mouse, murine, squirrel, water opossum: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Didelphidae (opossum) ape-fox1594 fox-ape1594 opossum1610 possum1613 cerigo1708 pedimane1835 marsupial rat1863 the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Didelphidae (opossum) > genus Didelphis opossum1610 sarigue1683 ursine opossum1800 1610 True Declar. Plantation Virginia (1844) 13 There are Arocouns, and Apossouns, in shape like to pigges, shrowded in hollow roots of trees. 1612 J. Smith Map of Virginia 14 An Opassom hath an head like a Swine, and a taile like a Rat, and is of the bignes of a Cat. c1612 W. Strachey Hist. Trav. Virginia (1953) i. x. 124 An Oppusum is a beast as big as a pretty Beagle of grey Cullor. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 636 [Quoting Smith, 1612] The Ouassom [etc.]. 1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi ix. §1. 446 In Virginia there is a beast called Ovassom, which hath a head like a Swine, a tail like a Rat, as big as a Cat, and hath under his belly a bag, wherein they carrie their young. 1694 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 122 An Opossom, as big, and something shaped like our Badgers, but of a lighter Dun colour. 1719 J. Ozell tr. F. M. Misson Mem. Trav. Eng. 280 The Oposon is of the Bigness of a Pig of a Fortnight old. 1763 J. Wesley Compend. Nat. Philos. I. ii. i. §10. 114 The tender young of the Opossum are delicate Morsels. 1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iii. 19 As the young of the oppossum retire into the ventral pouch of the old one. 1806 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chevalier in Gaz. Publ. 329 Racoon, opossum or a bear, Devoid of intellect that are. 1859 W. M. Thackeray Virginians xxxviii Like the fabled opossum..who when he spied the unerring gunner from his gum-tree said ‘It's no use, Major, I will come down.’ 1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. vi. 267 Seven species of Opossum have been found, fossil, in caves of Brazil. 1904 G. S. Porter Freckles 255 Crones..eternally sucking a corncob pipe and stirring the endless kettles of stewing coon and opossum. 1949 Sat. Evening Post 25 June 31/1 He reached down, gripped the nape of the trembling opossum and hoisted him gently to the platform. 2001 Times 27 June i. 13/2 In addition to dogs and cats, Presidents have often kept more exotic pets... Herbert Hoover adopted an oppossum. 2. Australian and New Zealand. Any of various other small or moderate-sized arboreal marsupials; spec. = possum n.¹ 3d.zebra-opossum: see zebra n. Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Phalangeridae (phalanger) phalanger1770 possum1770 rat of Suriname1774 opossum1777 phalangist1835 1777 W. Anderson Jrnl. 30 Jan. in J. Cook Jrnls. (1967) III. ii. 792 The only animal of the Quadruped kind we got was a sort of Opossum about twice the size of a large cat. 1789 A. Phillip Voy. Botany Bay xxii. 297 Black Flying Opossum. 1793 J. Hunter Hist. Jrnl. Trans. Port Jackson iii. 68 The opossum is also very numerous here, but it is not exactly like the American opossum. 1847 F. W. L. Leichhardt Jrnl. Overland Exped. Austral. v. 146 The Black~fellows told us, that they had caught a ring-tailed opossum. 1862 G. T. Lloyd 33 Years Tasmania iv. 47 The large sable and gray opossums, when disturbed, will either await death in their dark nest or at once spring to the earth. 1875 Melbourne Spectator 10 July 118/2 A snow-white opossum has been captured on a tree at the Murray. 1911 C. E. W. Bean ‘Dreadnought’ of Darling xvii. 162 Australia, at one time, along with its harmless marsupial kangaroos, opossums..and the rest, had its own beasts of prey. 1944 Living off Land: Man. Bushcraft iii. 57 To improvise a water container, copy the blacks, who used the skins of opossums. 1973 Massey Ferguson Rev. (N.Z.) Mar.–Apr. 8/3 Intensive control measures around the farms by the New Zealand Forest Service and local pest destruction boards have reduced opossum numbers. 1986 Auckland Metro Feb. 19/2 Pohutukawa trees..have fostered undergrowth and in turn..animals, chiefly opossums. Compounds C1. † opossum cloak n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1832 J. Henderson Observ. Colonies New S. Wales & Van Dieman's Land p. xiii We had carried..our oppossum cloaks. 1892 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Nevermore II. 159 Opossum cloaks and wallaby rugs protected him from the searching night air. † opossum kind n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere III. iii. viii. 626 Of the quadrupeds, I have already mentioned the dog, and particularly described the kanguroo, and the animal of the opossum kind, resembling the phalanger of Buffon. 1811 D. D. Mann Present Picture New S. Wales 49 This animal is of the Opossum kind, having..a false belly. † opossum pocket n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1854 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross xiv. 103 A roomy scarlet coat, with opossum pockets and spoon cuffs. 1862 G. J. Whyte-Melville Inside Bar 343 What I believe Mr. Poole terms the ‘opossum pocket’ of his shooting-jacket. opossum rug n. ΚΠ 1841 Port Phillip Patriot (Melbourne) 11 Nov. 2/1 Thomas Arbuthnot, ship, for Calcutta..1 parcel (oppossum rug). 1871 C. L. Money Knocking about in N.Z. 74 A pannikin of tea, or half his blanket or opossum rug, are always at your disposal. 1963 B. Malinowski Family among Austral. Aborigines ii. 37 As a sign the boy's father gives the girl an opossum rug, shows her attention, and gives her ‘nice things to eat’. opossum skin n. ΚΠ 1820 J. Oxley Jrnls. Two Exped. New S. Wales 19 They were covered with cloaks made of opossum skins. 1968 Wanganui (N.Z.) Chron. 15 Nov. 10/6 (advt.) Opossum skins. Good prices, wanted immediately for overseas contract. † opossum tribe n. Obsolete ΚΠ 1770 J. Banks Jrnl. 26 July (1962) II. 99 In botanizing to-day I had the good fortune to take an animal of the Opossum (Didelphis) tribe. 1888 Littell's Living Age 21 Jan. 188/2 The individuals of this variety are wonderful climbers, and used to wage war on the opossum tribe. C2. opossum mouse n. any of various small, mainly nocturnal marsupials of the Australian family Burramyidae; esp. the flying mouse, Acrobates pygmaeus. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Phalangeridae (phalanger) > genus Acrobates (flying mouse) opossum mouse1832 flying mouse1934 1832 J. Bischoff Sketch Hist. Van Diemen's Land 28 The opossum mouse is about the size of our largest barn mouse. 1894 R. Lydekker Hand-bk. Marsupialia 118 The Flying Mouse, or Opossum Mouse,..is one of the most elegant of the Australian Marsupials. 1926 A. S. Le Souef et al. Wild Animals Australasia 239 The plump opossum-mice. † opossum-shrew n. Obsolete rare a solenodon.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries. ΚΠ 1890 Cent. Dict. Opossum-shrew, an insectivorous mammal of the genus Solenodon. opossum tree n. (a) the sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, of the southern U.S. and Central America; †(b) = opossum wood n. (obsolete). ΚΠ 1876 C. E. Hobbs Bot. Hand-bk. Common Names 84 Opossum tree, Sweet gum tree, Liquidamber styraciflua. 1889 J. H. Maiden Useful Native Plants Austral. 592 Quintinia Sieberi..‘Opossum Tree’... The timber is heavy, and close-grained. 1960 R. A. Vines Trees, Shrubs, & Woody Vines Southwest 325 Vernacular names are..Opossum-tree..and Star-leaf Gum. opossum wood n. (a) U.S. the snowdrop tree, Halesia tetraptera; (b) an Australian rainforest tree, Quintinia sieberi (family Saxifragaceae). ΚΠ 1897 G. B. Sudworth Nomencl. Arborescent Flora U.S. 323 Mohrodendron carolinum... Opossum-wood. 1947 R. H. Anderson Trees New S. Wales (ed. 2) 218 In addition to the Opossum Wood and the Featherwood there are four related species belonging to the same family (Escalloniaceae). 1965 Austral. Encycl. VI. 406/2 Opossum-wood, the usual name for a small eastern rain-forest tree, Quintinia sieberi... The name is supposed to have originated among bushmen, who..likened the peculiar scars in the bark to scars left by the claws of possums. 1987 D. J. Mabberley Plant-bk. 261 Halesia... Cult. orn. decid. shrubs (bell trees) esp. H. tetraptera Ellis (‘H. carolina’, EUS)—snowdrop tree, silver bell, opossumwood, with white drooping flowers. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.1610
随便看	exacinate exacination exact exact differential exact differential equation exact equation exact imitation exact sciences exacta exactable exactas exacted exacter exacters exactest exacting exactingly exactingness exactingnesses exaction exactions exactious exactitude exactitudes exactive