D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Possum

/pŏs'əm/ · Pos·sum · IPA /ˈpɒsəm/
01 n. An opossum.
  1. 1.
    An opossum.(Zool.) [Colloq. U. S.]
Phrases & compounds
To play possum — to feign ignorance, indifference or inattention, with the intent to deceive; to dissemble; -- in allusion to the habit of the opossum, which feigns death when attacked or alarmed.