totemic

American  

[toh-tem-ik] / toʊˈtɛm ɪk /

adjective

1. of, being, or relating to a natural object or animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group.

   Crocodiles are regarded as totemic animals in some parts of Africa, connected with a group's origin, ancestors, and place.

2. of, being, or relating to anything regarded as a distinctive or venerated emblem by a group or individual.

   I explained that the great horse trilogy, My Friend Flicka, was one of the most vivid and totemic elements of my childhood.

   This has been a totemic issue for their party over the years, literally a signature policy during the last election.

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Other Word Forms

• subtotemic adjective
• totemically adverb

Etymology

Origin of totemic

First recorded in 1840–50; totem ( def. ) + -ic

Example Sentences

For his followers, Nemtsov is a totemic figure in Russian political life -- seen as a once-future leader who might have taken the country on a different path.

From Barron's

Mandelson, a totemic figure on the left of British politics, was photographed being escorted from a property in London by police officers.

From The Wall Street Journal

Picasso’s Cubism introduced Lam not only to European modernism but also to its sources—African masks and totemic art, to which Lam, understandably, felt a familial connection.

From The Wall Street Journal

He said the case "became sort of totemic of the distraction of issues that it felt like a different part of government were fascinated by".

From BBC

He didn’t have the totemic, darkly glamorous style of Robert Mapplethorpe but one more intimate, more dependent on human connection and contingency, even as he remained meticulous in his pursuit of the perfect shot.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• familial
• tribal