totemic


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to·tem

 (tō′təm)
n.
1.
a. 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.
b. A representation of such an object.
c. A social group having a common affiliation to such an object.
2. A venerated emblem or symbol: "grew up with the totems and taboos typical of an Irish Catholic kid in Boston" (Connie Paige).

[Ojibwa nindoodem, my totem.]

to·tem′ic (-tĕm′ĭk) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.totemic - relating to totemismtotemic - relating to totemism; "totemic object"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations

totemic

[təʊˈtemɪk] ADJtotémico
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
References in classic literature ?
So no one vexed him as he trotted through the winding pathways between the many houses and past the obscene kingposts of totemic heraldry, where the forms of men, carved from single tree trunks, were seated in the gaping jaws of carved sharks.
Some, covered with obscene totemic figures and designs, were carved from solid tree trunks forty or fifty feet in length.
Wright is a totemic figure of English football, worshipped by Wolves fans for an unbroken playing career that spanned 490 games with the club.
Giving nancial aid to far less totemic businesses in the supply chain, which face possible extinction just as much as farmers and their lambs, is quite another.
Newcastle sold totemic striker Ayoze Perez to Leicester for PS30m earlier this summer and Longstaff's camp hope a similar fee would be enough to convince Newcastle to sell him to United.
And on Thursday, a seismic week saw the totemic departure date of March 29 - two years since the UK formally told Brussels it wanted to leave - scrubbed from the timetable, as the Commons voted to delay withdrawal.
A totemic figure at Leinster and Leicester, Cullen won 32 Ireland caps but competed in an era when Paul O'Connell and Donncha O'Callaghan dominated the second row selection.
Kane's absence looks a major blow for Spurs, who are currently third in the league, with their totemic striker now set to miss key derbies in the league as well as big cup ties at home and in Europe.
This personal awareness of the totemic value of fishing, the consequences for Scottish Tories and May's "our precious union" left Gove hamstrung.
In the 78th minute, Poite is seen back-peddling and colliding with the totemic figure of Ruddock.
Ministers will also bring forward strengthened anti-terror laws to allow earlier interventions amid warnings the aviation system remains a "totemic" target.