Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Petaurist \Pe*tau"rist\, n. [L. petaurista a ropedancer, Gr. ?,
   fr. ? to dance on a rope, fr. ? a pole, a stage for
   ropedancers: cf. F. p['e]tauriste.] (Zo["o]l.)
   Any flying marsupial of the genera {Petaurus}, {Phalangista},
   {Acrobata}, and allied genera. See {Flying mouse}, under
   {Flying}, and {Phalangister}.