totem pole

to·tem pole

T t

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [toh-tuh m pohl]
- /ˈtoʊ təm poʊl/
- /ˈtəʊ.təm pəʊl/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [toh-tuh m pohl]
- /ˈtoʊ təm poʊl/

Definitions of totem pole words

noun totem pole a pole or post carved and painted with totemic figures, erected by Indians of the northwest coast of North America, especially in front of their houses. 1
noun totem pole a hierarchical system: the bureaucratic totem pole. 1
noun totem pole American Indian tall wooden carving 1
noun totem pole a pole carved or painted with totemic figures set up by certain North American Indians, esp those of the NW Pacific coast, within a village as a tribal symbol or, sometimes, in memory of a dead person -1
countable noun totem pole A totem pole is a long wooden pole with symbols and pictures carved and painted on it. Totem poles are made by some Native American peoples and placed outside their homes. 0
noun totem pole a pole or post carved and painted with totems, often erected in front of their dwellings by Indian tribes of the NW coast of North America 0

See all 7 definitions of totem pole

Information block about the term

Origin of totem pole

First appearance:

before 1875

One of the 25% newest English words

First recorded in 1875-80

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Totem pole

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Totem pole

totem pole popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 43% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

totem pole usage trend in Literature

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