totem

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈtəʊtəm/ (UK); /ˈtoʊtəm/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is from an Algonquian language, probably Ojibwa:^{[2][3][4][5][6]} compare Ojibwe ototeman (“his sibling kin; his totem”) and nindoodem (“my totem”).^{[2][3][4][5][7]} The RHWU suggests that the stem originally meant “clan-village-mate”.^[7] Weekley notes that the t- may represent the end of a possessive prefix.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Among the indigenous peoples of America, the hereditary emblem of a tribe or clan (1609 in the OED, as aoutem among the peoples of Nova Scotia; 1760 in Etymonline; 1760–76 in Barnhart).^[9][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The earliest record, aoutem, is in a French account of about 1600 of the Mi'kmaq or other peoples of Nova Scotia.^[3][4][8] From the mid-19th century anthropologists extended the word to other peoples divided into clans named after animals or plants,^[9][4] a usage Weekley attributes to Lubbock.^[8] The totem pole is recorded from 1808, of the peoples of the Pacific coast of Canada.^[3][4] Figuratively a totem is any venerated emblem or symbol (1890),^[9][2][5] and in colloquial use low on the totem means low in rank (1974).^[9]

Timeline

• 1609 – aoutem, a clan emblem.^[9]
• 1760 – totem.^[4][3]
• 1808 – totem pole.^[3][4]
• 1890 – a venerated symbol.^[9]
• 1974 – low on the totem.^[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An animal, plant or natural object serving among certain peoples as the emblem of a clan or family, and sometimes revered as its ancestor or guardian.
2. A representation of such an object, often carved or painted.
3. A clan or group identified by a common totem.
4. A venerated emblem or symbol.

Word family

• totemic
• totemically
• subtotem
• totemite
• totemism
• totemist
• totemistic
• totem pole

Related words

• emblem
• fetish

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
9. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press