totemic: Dictionary.com Word of the Day

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Word of the Day for Friday, January 21, 2011 totemic \toh-TEM-ik\, adjective: 1. Pertaining to an object or natural phenomenon with which a family or group considers itself closely related. 2. Relating to a representation of such an object serving as the distinctive mark of the clan or group. It's as totemic to me as Don's black hat was to my baby daughter. -- Jonathan Stone, Monkeys on My Back: Three Unpublished(unpublishable?) Novels (Oh, and a Novella) A convict's personal possessions - few in number, weighted with significance-took on a totemic quality, and Doug had, over time, winnowed his meaningful totems down to exactly one. -- Chuck Hogan, Prince of Thieves: A Novel Totemic derives from the Algonquian (probably Ojibwa) odoodeman, "his sibling kin, his group or family," hence, "his family mark." Read the full entry | See synonyms | Comment on today's word | Suggest tomorrow's word Yesterday's word | Previous words | Help
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