SHIBBOLETH


Meaning of SHIBBOLETH in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈshi-bə-ləth also ]

-ˌleth 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 as empty of real meaning

the old shibboleth s 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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.