marsupial

Etymology

From Latin marsupium, marsuppium (“pouch, purse”), from Ancient Greek μαρσύπιον (marsúpion) or μαρσύππιον (marsúppion), variants of μαρσίππιον (marsíppion), diminutive of μάρσιππος (mársippos, “bag, pouch”); with English -al.

noun

1. A mammal of which the female has a pouch in which it rears its young, which are born immature, through early infancy, such as kangaroos or koalas, or else pouchless members of the Marsupialia like shrew opossums.

adj

1. Of or pertaining to a marsupial.
   Showing that this animal is marsupial, consists of the following characters. 1892, The American naturalist, page 125
   It seemed to me, meandering around Earls Court, that motors should be more marsupial. 1952, The Motor, page 520
   But there's this pouch just below my belly button, very marsupial, where the kangaroo lives. 2002, Fiction Fix: First Injection, page 58
2. (anatomy) Of or relating to a marsupium.
   the marsupial bones