Where does “woolly mouse opossum” come from?

woolly mouse opossum (English) comes from English woolly, from Middle English wolly.

woolly mouse opossum (English): Any opossum in the subgenus Marmosa (Micoureus)

Definitions

  1. Any opossum in the subgenus Marmosa (Micoureus)

Ancestry of “woolly mouse opossum”, step by step

woolly mouse opossum traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English woolly

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishwoollyMade of wool; Having a thick, soft texture, as if...
2Middle Englishwolly

via English mouse opossum

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishmouse opossumAny of the didelphids in the genera Marmosa, Thylamys, and Tlacuatzin
Every word from Middle English wollyEvery word from English woolly