totem

See also: Totem and tótem

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Ojibwe (o)doodem(an)bor.

English totem

Borrowed from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtoʊtəm/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtəʊtəm/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊtəm
• Hyphenation: to‧tem

Noun

totem (plural totems)

1. Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family; the representation of such an object or creature.
2. The clan whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature.
   • 1921, Wilhelm Max Wundt, Edward Leroy Schaub, Elements of folk psychology: outlines of a psychological history:

     The totem members were forbidden to eat the flesh of the totem animal, or were allowed to do so only under specific conditions.

   • 2014, Michael Pomedli, Living with Animals: Ojibwe Spirit Powers, page 165:

     These meanings flow from bear-like characteristics imprinted on totem members. Members of the bear clan may have dispositional, cognitive, and physical capabilities similar to those of bear.

3. (figuratively) A symbol or personification.
   • 2023 January 19, Damien Cave, quoting Richard Shaw, “How Covid’s Bitter Divisions Tarnished a Liberal Icon”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “She became a totem,” he added. “She became the personification of a particular response to the pandemic, which people in the far-flung margins of the internet and the not so far-flung margins used against her.”

4. An arbitrarily chosen object serving as a reminder to check whether one is awake or not, to aid in having lucid dreams.
   • 2010, ren, “Inception and Lucid Dreaming”, in alt.religion.wicca (Usenet):

     The best way to determine if you are dreaming or not is to have a totem in your lucid dreams that does not exist in reality. Inducing yourself is as easy as waking up during the night and practicing as you fall back asleep. Say, "I will be aware I am dreaming while I am dreaming by seeing my totem."

5. A tall object resembling a totem pole.
   • 2014 February 4, Tom Hayllar, A Long Way Walkin’ in Australia: From the Tasman to the Timor Sea‎^[2], Bloomington, Indiana: Balboa Press, →ISBN, page 207:

     Out the front of the Drive-in rose the town’s main tourist attraction, a totem of signs to bizarre places with impossible distances such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and so on.

Derived terms

• totemic
• totemical
• totemically
• totemism
• totemist
• totemistic
• totemistically
• totem kin
• totem pole
• totem stone
• totem tennis

Translations

natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe

• Afrikaans: totem
• Arabic: طَوْطَم (ṭawṭam)
• Armenian: տոտեմ (hy) (totem)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 圖騰 / 图腾 (tou⁴ tang⁴)

  Mandarin: 圖騰 / 图腾 (zh) (túténg)

• Czech: totem (cs) m
• Danish: totem
• Dutch: totem (nl) m
• Esperanto: totemo
• Estonian: tootem
• Finnish: toteemi (fi)
• French: totem (fr) m
• Georgian: ტოტემი (ṭoṭemi)
• German: Totem (de) m
• Icelandic: tótem n
• Irish: tótam m
• Italian: totem (it) m
• Japanese: トーテム (ja) (tōtemu)
• Korean: 토템 (totem)
• Lithuanian: totemas m
• Ngarrindjeri: ngartjie
• Nyunga: baronga
• Ojibwe: doodem
• Polish: totem (pl) m
• Portuguese: totem m
• Romanian: totem (ro)
• Russian: тоте́м (ru) m (totém)
• Slovene: totem (sl)
• Sotho: seboko (st)
• Spanish: tótem (es) m
• Swedish: totem n
• Tagalog: totem
• Turkish: ongun (tr), totem (tr)
• Vietnamese: tô-tem (vi), vật tổ

Anagrams

• motet, motte

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

totem m (plural totems, diminutive totempje n)

1. totem, object that signifies a kinship group
2. totem, physical representation of a kinship symbol

Derived terms

• totempaal

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɔ.tɛm/

Noun

totem m (plural totems)

1. totem

Derived terms

• totémique
• totémiser
• totémisation

Further reading

• “totem”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

totem

1. strong dative masculine/neuter singular of tot

Italian

Un totem – A totem

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English totem, from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.tem/
• Rhymes: -ɔtem
• Hyphenation: tò‧tem

Noun

totem m (invariable)

1. totem

Derived terms

• totem informativo
• totem multimediale
• totemico
• totemismo

Anagrams

• metto

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Ojibwe (o)doodem(an)bor.

English totembor.

Polish totem

Borrowed from English totem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.tɛm/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔtɛm
• Syllabification: to‧tem

Noun

totem m inan

1. totem (natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe)
2. totem (representation of such a creature)

Declension

Declension of totem

	singular	plural
nominative	totem	totemy
genitive	totemu	totemów
dative	totemowi	totemom
accusative	totem	totemy
instrumental	totemem	totemami
locative	totemie	totemach
vocative	totemie	totemy

Derived terms

adjective

• totemiczny

nouns

• totemista
• totemistka

Related terms

adjective

• totemistyczny

noun

• totemizm

Further reading

• “totem”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[3] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “totem”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[4] (in Polish)

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• tóteme

Etymology

Borrowed from English totem, from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.tẽj̃/ [ˈtɔ.tẽɪ̯̃]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɔ.tɐ̃j̃/, /ˈtɔ.tɛm/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -ɔtẽj̃, (Portugal) -ɔtɐ̃j̃, -ɔtɛm
• Hyphenation: to‧tem

Noun

totem m (plural totens)

1. totem (object or creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family)
2. totem pole (Native American sculpture made by carving trees)
3. (marketing) e-kiosk (digital panel used for advertising or user interaction)
   • 2023 November 5, Tina Bini, “O fenômeno chamado We Coffee e suas novas e tecnológicas lojas em São Paulo”, in CNN Brasil‎^[5]:

     Após fazer o pedido no totem, o nome do cliente aparece em duas telas no fundo da loja, indicando em qual dos armários a bandeja estará disponível.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “totem”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “totem”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “totem”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French totem.

Noun

totem n (plural totemuri)

1. totem

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	totem	totemul	totemuri	totemurile
genitive-dative	totem	totemului	totemuri	totemurilor
vocative	totemule		totemurilor

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tǒteːm/
• Hyphenation: to‧tem

Noun

tòtēm m anim (Cyrillic spelling то̀те̄м)

1. totem

Declension

Declension of totem

	singular	plural
nominative	tòtēm	totemi
genitive	totéma	totema
dative	totemu	totemima
accusative	totema	toteme
vocative	toteme	totemi
locative	totemu	totemima
instrumental	totemom	totemima

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English totem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoutem/ [ˈt̪ou̯.t̪ẽm]
• Rhymes: -outem

Noun

totem m (plural totems)

1. alternative spelling of tótem

Swedish

Noun

totem n or c

1. a totem ((natural) object or creature or the like that serves as an emblem)

Declension

Declension of totem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	totem	totems
	definite	totemet	totemets
plural	indefinite	totem	totems
	definite	totemen	totemens

Declension of totem

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	totem	totems
	definite	totemen	totemens
plural	indefinite	totem	totems
	definite	totemen	totemens

Derived terms

• totempåle

References

• “totem”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “totem”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “totem”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from French totem, from Ojibwe (o)doodem(an).

Noun

totem (definite accusative totemi, plural totemler)

1. (religion) totem

Declension

Declension of totem

singular plural nominative totem totemler definite accusative totemi totemleri dative toteme totemlere locative totemde totemlerde ablative totemden totemlerden genitive totemin totemlerin Possessive forms nominative singular plural 1st singular totemim totemlerim 2nd singular totemin totemlerin 3rd singular totemi totemleri 1st plural totemimiz totemlerimiz 2nd plural toteminiz totemleriniz 3rd plural totemleri totemleri definite accusative singular plural 1st singular totemimi totemlerimi 2nd singular totemini totemlerini 3rd singular totemini totemlerini 1st plural totemimizi totemlerimizi 2nd plural toteminizi totemlerinizi 3rd plural totemlerini totemlerini dative singular plural 1st singular totemime totemlerime 2nd singular totemine totemlerine 3rd singular totemine totemlerine 1st plural totemimize totemlerimize 2nd plural toteminize totemlerinize 3rd plural totemlerine totemlerine locative singular plural 1st singular totemimde totemlerimde 2nd singular toteminde totemlerinde 3rd singular toteminde totemlerinde 1st plural totemimizde totemlerimizde 2nd plural toteminizde totemlerinizde 3rd plural totemlerinde totemlerinde ablative singular plural 1st singular totemimden totemlerimden 2nd singular toteminden totemlerinden 3rd singular toteminden totemlerinden 1st plural totemimizden totemlerimizden 2nd plural toteminizden totemlerinizden 3rd plural totemlerinden totemlerinden genitive singular plural 1st singular totemimin totemlerimin 2nd singular toteminin totemlerinin 3rd singular toteminin totemlerinin 1st plural totemimizin totemlerimizin 2nd plural toteminizin totemlerinizin 3rd plural totemlerinin totemlerinin

Synonyms

• ongun

Derived terms

• totemci
• totemcilik