Totem
English Meaning
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.
- 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.
- A representation of such an object.
- A social group having a common affiliation to such an object.
- A venerated emblem or symbol: "grew up with the totems and taboos typical of an Irish Catholic kid in Boston” ( Connie Paige).