What Animals Form a Passel?
Folksy American slang for “a bunch of something” — not an old hunting term in disguise.
Which Animals Form a Passel?
“Passel” is listed on this site as the collective noun for opossums and possums — but in standard American usage, these are the same animal. “Possum” is simply the everyday, clipped form of “opossum” (Didelphis virginiana), North America’s only marsupial. It’s worth being upfront about that here rather than pretending these are two different species: this page treats them as one animal known by two names. (In Australia, “possum” refers to an unrelated group of marsupials in the family Phalangeridae, but that’s not the sense used on this site.)
Where Does “Passel” Come From?
“Passel” is a variant spelling and pronunciation of parcel, attested since the late 14th century in that original form. Parcel itself traces back through Old French parcele and Medieval Latin parcella to Latin particula, “a small part.” The looser, folksier American sense of “passel” — meaning a large, loosely counted group of persons or things — is much newer, with evidence for that use dating to around 1835. It’s a piece of everyday American vernacular, not a formal old hunting term, and it’s applied to opossums about as often as it’s applied to kids, chores, or paperwork.
Passel vs. Parcel
These aren’t two unrelated words that happen to look alike — “passel” is literally a dialectal pronunciation of “parcel” that calcified into its own spelling. “Parcel” kept the more formal senses: a package, a plot of land, a portion of something. “Passel” branched off into the casual, folksy American sense of an uncounted bunch, the kind of word you’d use for “a passel of kids” as easily as “a passel of opossums.” Both words share the same Latin root, particula, “a small part” — they’ve just drifted into very different registers of English.
Animal-by-Animal Breakdown
Opossums: Most commonly called a passel, with “family” also used, since opossums are largely solitary outside of a mother raising her young. Adult opossums don’t form lasting groups; the closest real-world “passel” is a mother carrying her joeys before they disperse around four to five months old.
Possums: Same species, same term. “Possum” is the informal American name for the opossum, so its collective noun is identical — a passel.
🧠 Test Your Knowledge
Three quick questions. See what stuck.1. “Passel” is an informal variant of which everyday word?
2. Is “passel” a formal, centuries-old hunting term like “skulk” or “murder”?
3. In standard American usage, are “opossum” and “possum” different animals?
Frequently Asked Questions
What animals form a passel?
The opossum, North America’s only marsupial — often called simply a “possum” in everyday American speech, which is the same animal, not a different one.
Are opossum and possum different animals?
Not in standard American usage. “Possum” is the informal, clipped form of “opossum,” referring to the same species, Didelphis virginiana. In Australia, “possum” refers to a different, unrelated group of marsupials, but that’s not the sense used here.
Is “passel” an old formal hunting term like other collective nouns?
No. Unlike terms rooted in the 15th-century Book of Saint Albans, “passel” is informal American English, a variant of “parcel” whose loose, folksy “big group” sense is only documented from around 1835.
Where does “passel” come from?
It’s a variant of “parcel,” which traces through Old French and Medieval Latin to Latin particula, meaning “a small part.”
Do opossums actually live in passels?
Not really. Adult opossums are largely solitary; the closest thing to a group is a mother carrying her joeys before they become independent.