totem
totem
noun toh-TEM Rare
Origin: From Ojibwe 'ototeman' (his kinship group).
Usage Note
Totem entered French via English and refers to an animal, plant, or object serving as the emblem of a clan or tribe, most famously in Indigenous cultures of the Pacific Northwest. In informal French, animal totem is used loosely to mean a person's spirit animal or symbolic creature.
Examples
"Le totem du clan représentait un aigle."
Natural Translation
The clan's totem represented an eagle.
Related Words
Explore French by topic
FrenchNow
5 min read