Etymology

opossum

o·pos·sum
O1P3O1S1S1U1M3

Today it means: Any American marsupial of the family Didelphidae in the order Didelphimorphia. Full definition →

Powhatan aposoum ← Proto-Algonquian *wa·p-aʔθemwa
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The story

  1. Proto-Algonquian*wa·p-
  2. Proto-Algonquian*aθemwa
  3. Proto-Algonquian*wa·p-aʔθemwa
  4. Powhatanaposoum
  5. English todayopossum

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.