Tō'tem, n.

n. A rude picture, as of a bird, beast, or the like;—used by the North American Indians as a symbolic name or designation of a family, &c.

And they painted on the grave-posts Of the graves, yet unforgotten, Each his own ancestral totem, Each the symbol of his household; Figures of the bear and reindeer, Of the turtle, crane, and beaver. Longfellow.