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totem - 6 dictionary results

to⋅tem

  [toh-tuhm]
Use totem in a Sentence
–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 with which a family or sib considers itself closely related.
3. a representation of such an object serving as the distinctive mark of the clan or group.
4. anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol.
Origin:
1750–60, Americanism; < Ojibwa ninto⋅te⋅m my totem, oto⋅te⋅man his totem (prob. orig. my clan-village-mate, deriv. of s. o⋅te⋅- dwell in or as a village; cf. o⋅te⋅na village)

Related forms:
to⋅tem⋅ic  [toh-tem-ik] , adjective
to⋅tem⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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to·tem   (tō'təm)   
n.  
    1. An animal, plant, or natural object serving among certain tribal or traditional peoples as the emblem of a clan or family and sometimes revered as its founder, ancestor, or guardian.
    2. A representation of such an object.
    3. A social group having a common affiliation to such an object.
  2. A venerated emblem or symbol: "grew up with the totems and taboos typical of an Irish Catholic kid in Boston" (Connie Paige).

[Ojibwa nindoodem, my totem.]
to·tem'ic (-těm'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Totem

To"tem\, n. [Massachusetts Indian wutohtimoin that to which a person or place belongs.] A rude picture, as of a bird, beast, or the like, used by the North American Indians as a symbolic designation, as of a family or a clan.

And they painted on the grave posts Of the graves, yet unforgotten, Each his own ancestral totem Each the symbol of his household; Figures of the bear and reindeer, Of the turtle, crane, and beaver. --Longfellow.

The totem,the clan deity, the beast or bird who in some supernatural way attends to the clan and watches over it. --Bagehot.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : totem
Spanish: tótem,
German: das Totem,
Japanese: トーテム像
More Translations »

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.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

totem 
animal or natural object considered as the emblem of a family or clan, 1760, from Algonquian (probably Ojibwa) odoodeman "his sibling kin, his group or family," hence, "his family mark;" also attested in Fr. in 1609 in form aoutem among the Micmacs or other Indians of Nova Scotia. Totem pole is 1808, in reference to west coast Canadian Indians.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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totem

see low man on the totem pole.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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