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Totem Has Roots in an Algonquian Language
Totem comes to us from Ojibwa, an Algonquian language spoken by an American Indian people from the regions around Lake Superior. The most basic form of the word in Ojibwa is believed to be ote, but 18th-century English speakers encountered it as ototeman (meaning "his totem"), which became our word totem. In its most specific sense, totem refers to an emblematic depiction of an animal or plant that gives a family or clan its name and that often serves as a reminder of its ancestry. The term is also used broadly for any person or thing having particular emblematic or symbolic importance. The related adjective totemic describes something that serves as a totem, that depicts totems ("totemic basketry," for example), or that has the nature of a totem.
Examples of totem in a Sentence
Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 3 July 2025
The Beach Year: 2000 Runtime: 1h 59m Following A Life Less Ordinary, Boyle’s Hollywood sojourn continued with this adaptation of Alex Garland’s debut novel, seen by many at the time as a bit of a Gen-X totem of drugs, freedom, and alienation.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
The whale tooth was treated as a totem or sacred object, researchers said.
—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 19 May 2025
The facility, to be housed at Twickenham’s historic Stage 3, will feature a massive 24 x 4.5 meter back wall, 105 square meter LED ceiling, and additional mobile LED totem walls, complete with a permanent turntable and motion control crane.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for totem
Cite this Entry
“Totem.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/totem. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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totem
noun
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