Totem
Etymology
From Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) odoodem, meaning “his clan” or “his kinship group.” It named the animal or emblem identifying a clan, and anthropologists later generalized “totem” to any such symbolic marker of group identity.
noun · /TOH-tuhm/
An emblem — often an animal — that symbolizes a group and its shared identity.
What it names
The badge of belonging — the creature or object a clan takes as its sign, marking who its people are and what binds them.
Example
The startup adopted a scrappy raccoon as its unofficial totem.
Related idea
An emblem is any representative symbol; a totem carries kinship and the sacred — it marks who your people are.
See also