English word possum comes from English apheresis
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| apheresis | English (eng) | (linguistics, prosody) Elision, suppression, or complete loss of a letter or sound (syllable) from the beginning of a word, such as the development of special from especial; procope.. (medicine, general, obsolete) Extirpation or extraction of a superfluity (especially a pathological one) from the body, especially blood.. (medicine, specific, still current) The removal of blood from a [...] |
| possum | English (eng) | (US) An opossum, a marsupial of the family Didelphidae of the Americas.. Any of the marsupials in several families of the order Diprotodontia of Australia and neighboring islands. |