shibboleth Hear it!

shibboleth Definition

shib·bo·leth (s̸hib′ə let̸h′, -lət̸h)

noun

  1. the test word used by the men of Gilead to distinguish the escaping Ephraimites, who pronounced the initial (s̸h) as (s): Judg. 12:4-6
  2. any test word or password
  3. any phrase, custom, etc. distinctive of a particular party, class, etc.

Etymology: ME sebolech, after LL(Ec) sciboleth < Heb shibolet, a stream: pres. meaning from the use of the word as a test word

shibboleth Usage Examples

Preposition: of

  • orthodoxy: This may be the case with those for whom homophobia has become the shibboleth of orthodoxy.
  • establishment: In fact, junkscience.com is about much, much more than those shibboleths of the new establishment.

Converse of object

  • become: The Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars, became a shibboleth for Reagan, the believer in Armageddon.
  • discard: His flexible mind impatiently discards the shibboleths of old think.
  • use: There is no single shibboleth used as a test.

Preposition: for

  • orthodoxy: A willingness to call the Virgin Mary Theotokos is an important shibboleth for Christological orthodoxy.

Adjective modifier

  • old: That's why the old shibboleths about tax no longer apply.
  • ideological: The ideological shibboleths of neo-liberal economics have been broken.
  • particular: The existing far left organizations, even the most open of them, remain narrow and tied to their own particular shibboleths.
  • important: A willingness to call the Virgin Mary Theotokos is an important shibboleth for Christological orthodoxy.
  • political: Each generation has its political shibboleths and none of them last forever.
  • few: Keep up the good work, but with fewer shibboleths!
Shibboleth Quotes

Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him.

—Bible (Old Testament)