Totem Meaning
/ˈtoʊtəm/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family; the representation of such an object or creature.
nounThe clan whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature.
Sentence Examples
What is your totem animal?
There are towns on Haida Gwaii with tall totem poles, some ancient.
Yuri was at the bottom of the totem pole.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Each clan had a ____ that represented their spirit guide from nature.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Ojibwe (o)doodem(an)bor. English totem Borrowed from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The totem members were forbidden to eat the flesh of the totem animal, or were allowed to do so only under specific conditions."
— 1921, Wilhelm Max Wundt, Edward Leroy Schaub, Elements of folk psychology: outlines of a psychological history:
"These meanings flow from bear-like characteristics imprinted on totem members. Members of the bear clan may have dispositional, cognitive, and physical capabilities similar to those of bear."
— 2014, Michael Pomedli, Living with Animals: Ojibwe Spirit Powers, page 165:
"“She became a totem,” he added. “She became the personification of a particular response to the pandemic, which people in the far-flung margins of the internet and the not so far-flung margins used against her.”"
— 2023 January 19, Damien Cave, quoting Richard Shaw, “How Covid’s Bitter Divisions Tarnished a Liberal Icon”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"The best way to determine if you are dreaming or not is to have a totem in your lucid dreams that does not exist in reality. Inducing yourself is as easy as waking up during the night and practicing as you fall back asleep. Say, "I will be aware I am dreaming while I am dreaming by seeing my totem.""
— 2010, ren, “Inception and Lucid Dreaming”, in alt.religion.wicca (Usenet):
"Out the front of the Drive-in rose the town’s main tourist attraction, a totem of signs to bizarre places with impossible distances such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and so on."
— 2014 February 4, Tom Hayllar, A Long Way Walkin’ in Australia: From the Tasman to the Timor Sea, Bloomington, Indiana: Balboa Press, →ISBN, page 207:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
Each clan had a ____ that represented their spirit guide from nature.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people today.