noun
totem
TOH-tum/ˈtəʊtəm/
A symbol embodying a group’s identity or guiding belief.
The carved fox serves as a totem of the hiking group's shared identity.
Etymology
The Algonquian ancestor, probably Ojibwa, connects a kin group with its family mark. This links the animal or object to its role as an emblem of group identity.
In context
If you carry the stories of your clan's totem, how it began, the legend behind it, the event that tied your people to that animal or symbol, I ask you to share it with me.
More examples
- The team treats its battered trophy as a totem.
- For the movement, the raised fist remains a powerful totem.
- These factory gates are totems of the town's working-class identity.
Forms
totem · totems
totemic adjective — Serving as a symbol of shared identity.