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totem (n.)
animal or natural object considered as the emblem of a family or clan, 1760, from Algonquian (probably Ojibwa) -doodem, in odoodeman "his sibling kin, his group or family," hence, "his family mark;" also attested in French c. 1600 in form aoutem among the Micmacs or other Indians of Nova Scotia. Totem pole is 1808, in reference to west coast Canadian Indians.
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Definitions of totem from WordNet
Dictionary entries near totem
totalitarian
totalitarianism
totality
totally
tote
totem
totemic
tother
totipotent
toto
toto caelo