Found 2 items, similar to Totem.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: totem totem n 1: a clan identified by their kinship to a common totemic object 2: emblem consisting of an object such as an animal or plant; serves as the symbol of a family or clan (especially among American Indians)
English → English (gcide) Definition: Totem Totem \To"tem\, n. [Massachusetts Indian wutohtimoin that to which a person or place belongs.] 1. 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; also, the object or animal itself, considered as an symbol of the family. [1913 Webster] And they painted on the grave posts Of the graves, yet unforgotten, Each his own ancestral totem Each the symbol of his household; Figures of the bear and reindeer, Of the turtle, crane, and beaver. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster] The totem, the clan deity, the beast or bird who in some supernatural way attends to the clan and watches over it. --Bagehot. [1913 Webster] 2. Anything which serves as a venerated or mystic symbol or emblem. [PJC]