shibboleth
11shibboleth — noun Etymology: Hebrew shibbōleth 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 …
12shibboleth — This is a term used to refer to a test or formula. Shibboleth was a word chosen by the Gileadites to distinguish fleeing Ephraimites who could not pronounce the sh sound. (The incident is recounted in the Old Testament, Judges 12.) Shibboleth has …
13Shibboleth — 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,… …
14shibboleth — [14] Hebrew shibbōleth meant ‘stream’. According to the Bible, the Gileadites used it as a password, for they knew their enemies the Ephraimites could not pronounce the sh properly (‘And it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped… …
15shibboleth — [[t]ʃɪ̱bəleθ[/t]] shibboleths N COUNT 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… …
16shibboleth — UK [ˈʃɪbəleθ] / US [ˈʃɪbəˌleθ] noun [countable] Word forms shibboleth : singular shibboleth plural shibboleths very formal a principle or belief that is considered to be old fashioned and no longer important …
17shibboleth — [14] Hebrew shibbōleth meant ‘stream’. According to the Bible, the Gileadites used it as a password, for they knew their enemies the Ephraimites could not pronounce the sh properly (‘And it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped… …
18shibboleth — /shib euh lith, leth /, n. 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. [ <… …
19shibboleth — noun /ˈʃɪbəlɛθ/ a) A word, especially seen as a test, to distinguish someone as belonging to a particular nation, class, profession etc. Its about time we abandoned the bourgeois shibboleth that earning money makes you a better person. b) A… …
20shibboleth — [ ʃɪbəlɛθ] noun a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially one regarded as outmoded. Word History Shibboleth comes from Hebrew, in which it means ear of corn . According to the Bible, the word… …
