Etymology

shibboleth

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Today it means: A particular pronunciation or custom that is regarded as distinguishing members of a group from non-members, especially when used as a test. Full definition →

Biblical Hebrew שִׁבֹּלֶת /שיבולת
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The story

  1. Biblical Hebrew · learned borrowing fromשִׁבֹּלֶת /שיבולת“ear [of wheat] or stream, torrent”
  2. English todayshibboleth

Learned borrowing from Biblical Hebrew שִׁבֹּלֶת /שיבולת (šibbṓleṯ, “ear [of wheat] or stream, torrent”). Doublet of sebboleth and Middle English sebolech, both from Late Latin sebboleth in the Vulgate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.