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totem

totem

26 7.5
A thing like an animal or plant that a group treats as a special symbol
  • noun
  • /ˈtoʊtəm/
translation icon : tótem
  • The totem represents the spirit of our clan and is displayed proudly at our gatherings.
  • totem pole
  • totem carving
  • animal totems

That's the sound of of the totem animal.

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Examples

  • Kinship between a family group and its animal totem reinforced an intimate connection to its homeland.

    Academic text (2018)
  • People's names frequently reflected their totem, a nature spirit which expressed the individual's or the clan's identity.

    Academic text (2000)
  • And they made you this totem... so that when you returned, we would know it was you.

  • My primary interest is in totem poles.

  • I took a book on totems from my personal library and came home with three more.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The inhabitants here live with their totem; this is the nest of the Tribe of the Eagle.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • You'll find some people that will take the eagle as a totem, but we use it in the context of a grandfather.

  • Most clans were represented by animal totems, such as Bear, Eagle, and Tiger.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Yet, in their relationship to oral tradition and use in totemic law, totem poles reinforced notions of clan ownership.

    Academic text (2009)
  • I found myself in South London by some sort of urban farm with a petting zoo, and I hid among the goats, remember, the goat was my totem animal when we were pagans.

Idioms

2 7.6

A person who has a low rank in a group or at work

7.9

In a position of power or importance in a group

Compounds

3 5.8

A tall carved wooden post made by northwest coast native people showing family or legend figures

How Representative

spirit animal
  • Literature
1 7.0
totem
26 7.5
symbol
625 3.5

Surface Forms

totem singular
totems plural

Etymology

Totem comes from an Ojibwe word odoodem meaning 'his clan' or 'family sign'. So a totem is an animal, plant, or object that stands for a family or group.