ˈtōd.əm, ˈtōtəm noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Ojibwa ototeman his totem
1.
a. : an animal, plant, or other object serving as the emblem of a family or clan and often regarded as a reminder of its ancestry
each clan has its totem or ritualistic mascot — C.E.Wilson
believes that … his own ancestors were birds like that which is now his totem — Daisy Bates
b. : a usually carved or painted emblem of a family or clan
the aged and rotting raven totem pictured at the right — Alaska Sportsman
c. : a family or clan identified by a common totemic object
belonging to a totem forbidden to marry either of the girls — Rex Ingamells
d. : a totemic object adopted by an individual
the individual had his own totem , serving as familiar spirit in the case of shamans — C.S.Coon
2. : something that serves as an emblem
enamelled totems of half the automobile clubs in Europe — Times Literary Supplement
especially as a revered symbol
his corpulent figure was the totem of their belief — H.V.Gregory
move uncritically among the ideological totems of the modern world — W.F.Kerr
3. : a dark reddish orange that is yellower, stronger, and slightly darker than average lacquer red, stronger and slightly lighter than ocher red, and redder and stronger than burnt sienna — called also Mars red