WORD OF THE DAY TOTEM 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 with which a family or sib considers itself closely related. A representation of such an object serving as the distinctive mark of the clan or group. Anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol. Quotes Manys the savage Ive run into who sees his totem in dreams or visions. -- Philip José Farmer , The Dark Design , 1977 Grandma refused to interpret the dreams. Padlock asked her fiancé to have a go at it. He based his interpretation on totemic symbols. Padlock belonged to the elephant totem. -- Moses Isegawa , Abyssinian Chronicles , 1998 Origin This Americanism came to English in the mid-1700s from Ojibwa.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 11:35:15 +0000
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