shibboleth - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

shib·bo·leth

Audio Help [shib-uh-lith, ‑leth] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a peculiarity of pronunciation, behavior, mode of dress, etc., that distinguishes a particular class or set of persons.

2.	a slogan; catchword.

3.	a common saying or belief with little current meaning or truth.

[Origin: < Heb shibbōleth lit., freshet, a word used by the Gileadites as a test to detect the fleeing Ephraimites, who could not pronounce the sound sh (Judges 12:4–6)

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
shibboleth

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

shib·bo·leth Audio Help (shĭb'ə-lĭth, -lěth') Pronunciation Key
n.

A word or pronunciation that distinguishes people of one group or class from those of another.
1. A word or phrase identified with a particular group or cause; a catchword.
2. A commonplace saying or idea.
A custom or practice that betrays one as an outsider.

[Ultimately from Hebrew šibbōlet, torrent of water, from the use of this word to distinguish one tribe from another that pronounced it sibbōlet (Judges 12:4-6).]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
shibboleth

1382, the Heb. word shibboleth "flood, stream," also "ear of corn," in Judges xii:4-6. It was the password used by the Gileadites to distinguish their own men from fleeing Ephraimites, because Ephraimites could not pronounce the -sh- sound. Figurative sense of "watchword" is first recorded 1638, and it evolved by 1862 to "outmoded slogan still adhered to." A similar test-word was cicera "chick pease," used by the Italians to identify the French (who could not pronounce it correctly) during the massacre called the Sicilian Vespers (1282).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

shibboleth
noun
1.	a favorite saying of a sect or political group [syn: motto]
2.	a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
shibboleth [(shib-uh-luhth, shib-uh-leth)]

In the Old Testament, shibboleth was a password used by the Israelites. It was chosen because their enemies could not pronounce it.

Note: By extension, a shibboleth is an often-repeated slogan. It also means an arbitrary test to prove membership in a group.

[Chapter:] The Bible

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Shibboleth

Shib"bo*leth\, n. [Heb. shibb[=o]leth an ear of corn, or a stream, a flood.]

1. A word which was made the criterion by which to distinguish the Ephraimites from the Gileadites. The Ephraimites, not being able to pronounce sh, called the word sibboleth. See --Judges xii.

Without reprieve, adjudged to death, For want of well pronouncing shibboleth. --Milton. Also in an extended sense.

The th, with its twofold value, is . . . the shibboleth of foreigners. --Earle.

2. Hence, the criterion, test, or watchword of a party; a party cry or pet phrase.

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