Friday, January 21, 2011


Word of the Day for Friday, January 21, 2011
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totemic \toh-TEM-ik\, adjective:
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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.
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The B.O.'s totemic relationship to Communist China is profound!
--Spy Maker, JSA's Blog

It's as totemic to me as Don's black hat was to my baby daughter.-- Jonathan Stone, Monkeys on My Back: Three Unpublished(unpublishable?)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)
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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
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Totemic derives from the Algonquian (probably Ojibwa) odoodeman, "his sibling kin, his group or family," hence, "his family mark."

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