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totem
[ toh-tuhm ]
noun
- a natural object or an animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group.
- an object or natural phenomenon that a family or descendant group considers themselves closely related to.
- a representation of a natural object, animate being, etc., that serves as the distinctive mark or emblem of a clan, family, or group.
- anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol.
totem
/ ˈtəʊtəm; təʊˈtɛmɪk /
noun
- (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
- a representation of such an object
totem
- 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.
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Derived Forms
- toˈtemically, adverb
- totemic, adjective
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Other Words From
- to·tem·ic [toh-, tem, -ik], adjective
- sub·to·tem noun
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Word History and Origins
Origin of totem1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of totem1
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Idioms and Phrases
see low man on the totem pole .Discover More
Example Sentences
Some childhood totem, like a stuffed animal . . . or a sled?
He would never deign me with any sort of acknowledgment, because I was too low on the totem pole.
That is something I look at as a totem of what movies used to be.
Imagine how Vanessa feels, then, looking up from an even lower level on the sexual totem pole.
William, patron of numerous anti-poaching organisations, will be a very visible totem of the cause throughout the week.
They adopt a “totem” or symbol of the family and this is generally some animal, the turtle, bear and wolf being favorites.
Occasionally, in very uncultivated tribes, some family or totem claimed a monopoly of the priesthood.
Their totem was that of the serpent, and their name is not altogether unlike the Tuscarora name of this animal usquauhne.
On the contrary, it is extremely probable that they were an Algonkin totem, which had the exclusive right to the priesthood.
I allude to the institution of the Totem, which has been well known among the Algonquin tribes from the settlement of Canada.
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Related Words
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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