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SHIBBOLETH
SHIBBOLETH [From Hebrew shibbōleth, meaning uncertain, perhaps either ‘stream in flood’ or ‘ear of corn’. The English use originates in the Bible, in the Book of Judges 12: 5–6, where the Gileadites defeat the Ephraimites at the River Jordan: ‘And the Gileadites tooke the passages of Iordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so that when those Ephraimites which were escaped saide, Let me go ouer, that the men of Gilead said vnto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay: Then said they vnto him, Say now, Shibboleth: and he said, Sibboleth: for hee could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they tooke him, and slewe him at the passages of Iordan.’ (Authorized Version, 1611)].
1. A peculiarity of pronunciation that indicates someone's regional and/or social origins, such as toity-toid thirty-third, serving to identify someone from Brooklyn. 2. A style, expression, custom, or mannerism that identifies an enemy or someone disliked or different because of background, community, occupation, etc.: for example, extreme political slogans referred to as Fascist/Commie shibboleths. Usually, the disapproval runs one way, higher social Gileadites detecting and rejecting lower social Ephraimites, but the reverse is also possible, as when in Britain, in assessing the vowel sounds in can't dance, speakers who say ‘cahn't dahnce’ are often dismissed as toffs and snobs. See MARKED AND UNMARKED TERMS, STEREOTYPE. |
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TOM McARTHUR. "SHIBBOLETH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "SHIBBOLETH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-SHIBBOLETH.html TOM McARTHUR. "SHIBBOLETH." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-SHIBBOLETH.html |
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shibboleth
shibboleth In English usage, a test word or opinion which gives away one's party or nationality; hence also a doctrine once regarded as essential but generally abandoned as old-fashioned. The word in Hebrew was the password demanded by Gileadite soldiers (Judg. 12: 6) to pick out the Ephraimite enemies who were physically unable to sound the initial consonant.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "shibboleth." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "shibboleth." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-shibboleth.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "shibboleth." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-shibboleth.html |
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shibboleth
shibboleth a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important. Of biblical origin, the word comes from the Hebrew word meaning ‘ear of corn’, used as a test of nationality by its difficult pronunciation, as recounted in Judges 12:14.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "shibboleth." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "shibboleth." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-shibboleth.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "shibboleth." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-shibboleth.html |
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shibboleth
shib·bo·leth / ˈshibəli[unvoicedth]; -ˌle[unvoicedth]/ • n. a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, esp. a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important: the party began to break with the shibboleths of the left. |
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"shibboleth." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shibboleth." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-shibboleth.html "shibboleth." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-shibboleth.html |
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shibboleth
shibboleth Heb. word used by Jephthah as a test word to distinguish the fleeing Ephraimites, who could not pronounce sh, from his own men, the Gileadites (Judges 2: 4–6) XIV; (gen.) word used as a test for detecting foreigners; catch-word adopted by a party XVII. — Heb. šibbōleth stream.
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T. F. HOAD. "shibboleth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "shibboleth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-shibboleth.html T. F. HOAD. "shibboleth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-shibboleth.html |
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shibboleth
shibboleth. A word used by Jephthah as a test to distinguish the Gileadites from the Ephraimites, whose pronunciation of it as ‘sibboleth’ betrayed their identity (Jgs. 12: 4ff.). In modern usage it denotes a sectarian or party catchword.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "shibboleth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "shibboleth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-shibboleth.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "shibboleth." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-shibboleth.html |
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Shibboleth
Shibboleth , in the Bible, test word that the Gileadites made the Ephraimites pronounce. As Ephraimites could not say sh but only s as in "Sibboleth," this was regarded as a test of an Ephraimite; 42,000 Ephraimites were thus detected. |
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"Shibboleth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Shibboleth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Shibbole.html "Shibboleth." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Shibbole.html |
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shibboleth
shibboleth
•Beth, breath, death, Jerez, Macbeth, Seth
•megadeath • Japheth • shibboleth
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"shibboleth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "shibboleth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-shibboleth.html "shibboleth." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-shibboleth.html |
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