totem

[ toh-tuhm ]

noun

1. a natural object or an animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group.
2. an object or natural phenomenon that a family or descendant group considers themselves closely related to.
3. a representation of a natural object, animate being, etc., that serves as the distinctive mark or emblem of a clan, family, or group.
4. anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol.

totem

/ ˈtəʊtəm; təʊˈtɛmɪk /

noun

1. (in some societies, esp among North American Indians) an object, species of animal or plant, or natural phenomenon symbolizing a clan, family, etc, often having ritual associations
2. a representation of such an object

totem

1. An animal, plant, or other object in nature that has a special relationship to a person, family, or clan and serves as a sign for that person or group.

Derived Forms

• toˈtemically, adverb
• totemic, adjective

Other Words From

• to·tem·ic [toh-, tem, -ik], adjective
• sub·to·tem noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of totem¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1750–60; from Ojibwe ninto·te·m “my totem,” oto·te·man “his totem” (probably originally “my/his clan-village-mate,” derivative of stem o·te·- “dwell in or as a village”; compare o·te·na “village”)

Word History and Origins

Origin of totem¹

C18: from Ojibwa nintōtēm mark of my family

Idioms and Phrases

see low man on the totem pole .

Example Sentences

Before him is a gleaming chunk of glass, roughly the size of a toaster oven, that is carved with so many scooped-out sections to reduce its weight that it looks like an alien totem.

From MIT Technology Review

Each totem required its wielder to pass a test proving their mastery of each force.

From TechCrunch

For the Lummi Nation, totem poles historically are carved with symbols that represent a certain clan of a tribe or show a family or tribe’s lineage.

From Washington Post

The latest totem in our hyperpartisan and politically polarized culture war is the terminology around race relations in America.

From Washington Post

Scientists such as Fauci, after all, have been turned into totems of all that is wrong with the scientific community guiding public policy on things like coronavirus mitigation and climate change.

From Washington Post

Some childhood totem, like a stuffed animal . . . or a sled?

From The Daily Beast

He would never deign me with any sort of acknowledgment, because I was too low on the totem pole.

From The Daily Beast

That is something I look at as a totem of what movies used to be.

From The Daily Beast

Imagine how Vanessa feels, then, looking up from an even lower level on the sexual totem pole.

From The Daily Beast

William, patron of numerous anti-poaching organisations, will be a very visible totem of the cause throughout the week.

From The Daily Beast

They adopt a “totem” or symbol of the family and this is generally some animal, the turtle, bear and wolf being favorites.

From Project Gutenberg

Occasionally, in very uncultivated tribes, some family or totem claimed a monopoly of the priesthood.

From Project Gutenberg

Their totem was that of the serpent, and their name is not altogether unlike the Tuscarora name of this animal usquauhne.

From Project Gutenberg

On the contrary, it is extremely probable that they were an Algonkin totem, which had the exclusive right to the priesthood.

From Project Gutenberg

I allude to the institution of the Totem, which has been well known among the Algonquin tribes from the settlement of Canada.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• emblem