to·tem (t??t?m)n.1. a. An animal, plant, or natural object serving among certain tribal or traditional peoples as the emblem of a clan or family and sometimes revered as its founder, ancestor, or guardian.b. A representation of such an object.c. A social group having a common affiliation to such an object.2. A venerated emblem or symbol: “grew up with the totems and taboos typical of an Irish Catholic kid in Boston” (Connie Paige).[Ojibwa nindoodem, my totem.]to·tem?ic (-t?m??k) adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.totem (?t??t?m) n1. (Anthropology & Ethnology) (in some societies, esp among North American Indians) an object, species of animal or plant, or natural phenomenon symbolizing a clan, family, etc, often having ritual associations2. (Anthropology & Ethnology) a representation of such an object[C18: from Ojibwa nint?t?m mark of my family] totemic adj to?temically advCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014to?tem (?to? t?m) n. 1. a natural object or an animate being, as an animal or bird, assumed as the emblem of a clan, family, or group. 2. a representation of such an object or being serving as the distinctive mark of the clan or group. 3. anything serving as a distinctive, often venerated, emblem or symbol. [1750?60, Amer.;