shibboleth
3 synonyms for shibboleth, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A word, pronunciation, or custom used to identify members of a particular group and mark them out from outsiders.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use shibboleth
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
political shibboleth
cultural shibboleth
dismissed as a shibboleth
an old shibboleth
It is a formal, literary word rather than everyday speech.
Etymology
Shibboleth is a learned borrowing from Biblical Hebrew, where the original word meant an ear of grain or a stream. It reached English partly by way of Late Latin sebboleth in the Vulgate.
Full origin of shibboleth →Frequently asked questions
What does shibboleth mean?
It means a word or custom that marks someone as belonging to a particular group, or a group's catchphrase that has lost much of its meaning.
Where does the word shibboleth come from?
It comes from Biblical Hebrew, where it originally meant an ear of grain or a stream.
What is an example of a shibboleth?
A particular pronunciation, password, or custom that reveals whether someone belongs to a group.
