Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Shibboleth"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
Shibboleth
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."
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
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.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
shibboleth
n 1: a favorite saying of a sect or political group [syn: {motto},
{slogan}, {catchword}]
2: a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular
group of people
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