Adjacent Words

Shibboleth definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SHIB'BOLETH, n. [Heb. an ear of corn, or a stream of water.]
1. A word which was made the criterion by which to distinguish the Ephraimites not being able to pronounce the letter sh, pronounced the word sibboleth. See Judges 12. Hence,
2. The criterion of a party; or that which distinguishes one party from another; and usually some peculiarity in things of little importance.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a favorite saying of a sect or political group [syn: motto, slogan, catchword, shibboleth]
2: a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Hebrew shibb?leth stream; from the use of this word in Judges
12:6 as a test to distinguish Gileadites from Ephraimites Date: 1638 1. a. a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning <the old shibboleths come rolling off their lips — Joseph Epstein> b. a widely held belief <today this book publishing shibboleth is a myth — L. A. Wood> c. truism, platitude <some truth in the shibboleth that crime does not pay — Lee Rogow> 2. a. a use of language regarded as distinctive of a particular group <accent was…a shibboleth of social class — Vivian Ducat> b. a custom or usage regarded as distinguishing one group from others <for most of the well-to-do in the town, dinner was a shibboleth, its hour dividing mankind — Osbert Sitwell>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a long-standing formula, doctrine, or phrase, etc., held to be true by a party or sect (must abandon outdated shibboleths). Etymology: ME f. Heb. sibbolet ear of corn, used as a test of nationality for its difficult pronunciation (Judg.
12:6)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(shibboleths) If you describe an idea or belief as a shibboleth, you mean that it is thought important by a group of people but may be old-fashioned or wrong. (FORMAL) It is time to go beyond the shibboleth that conventional forces cannot deter. N-COUNT

Hitchcock Bible Dictionary

Sibboleth, ear of corn; stream or flood

Easton's Bible Dictionary

river, or an ear of corn. The tribes living on the east of Jordan, separated from their brethren on the west by the deep ravines and the rapid river, gradually came to adopt peculiar customs, and from mixing largely with the Moabites, Ishmaelites, and Ammonites to pronounce certain letters in such a manner as to distinguish them from the other tribes. Thus when the Ephraimites from the west invaded Gilead, and were defeated by the Gileadites under the leadership of Jephthah, and tried to escape by the "passages of the Jordan," the Gileadites seized the fords and would allow none to pass who could not pronounce "shibboleth" with a strong aspirate. This the fugitives were unable to do. They said "sibboleth," as the word was pronounced by the tribes on the west, and thus they were detected (Judg. 12:1-6). Forty-two thousand were thus detected, and

"Without reprieve, adjudged to death,

For want of well-pronouncing shibboleth."

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

shib'-o-leth (shibboleth): A test of speech applied by the men of Gilead to the Ephraimites, who wished to cross the Jordan, after defeat. If they pronounced the word cibboleth, their dialectic variety of speech betrayed them. (Jud 12:6). The word probably has the sense of stream or "flood" (compare Ps 69:2).

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Criterion, watchword, test.

Moby Thesaurus

banality, bromide, byword, catch phrase, catchword, cliche, countersign, cry, fad word, jargon, open sesame, password, pet expression, phrase, platitude, prosaicism, prosaism, rubber stamp, secret grip, slogan, tag, tessera, token, truism, vogue word, watchword