Totem

Definitions

1. Any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family; the representation of such an object or creature.
2. The clan whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature.
3. A symbol or personification.
   figuratively
4. An arbitrarily chosen object serving as a reminder to check whether one is awake or not, to aid in having lucid dreams.
5. A tall object resembling a totem pole.

Equivalents

Examples

“The totem members were forbidden to eat⟳ the flesh of the totem animal, or were allowed to do so only under specific conditions.”

“These meanings flow⟳ from bear-like characteristics imprinted on totem members. Members of the bear⟳ clan may have⟳ dispositional, cognitive, and physical capabilities similar to those of bear⟳.”

““She became a totem,” he added. “She became the personification of a particular response to the pandemic, which people in the far-flung margins of the internet and the not so far-flung margins used against her.””

“The best way to determine⟳ if you are dreaming or not is to have⟳ a totem in your lucid dreams that does not exist⟳ in reality. Inducing yourself is as easy as waking up during the night and practicing as you fall⟳ back asleep. Say⟳, "I will be aware I am dreaming while I am dreaming by seeing my totem."”

“Out the front of the Drive-in rose the town’s main tourist attraction, a totem of signs to bizarre places with impossible distances such as Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and so on.”

CEFR level