Shibboleth

"a password, test or watchword of a party, faction, or ethnic group." OR "a password, phrase, custom, usage, catchword, slogan that is distinctive of a particular group" [Scribner's dictionary].

The word comes from Hebrew and entered English as a transliteration of its original in Wycliff's 1382 translation of the Bible.

The meaning in Hebrew is "an ear of corn" OR "a stream in flood."  How did a word meaning "an ear of corn" or "a stream in flood" come to mean a password?

The answer can be found by reading the passage in question:   Judges xii.4-6.

Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manassaeh."   And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites.  And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?"  When he said, "No," they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right; then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan.  And there fell at that time forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites.   [RSV]

The word shibboleth was, as you can see from this context, used by Jephthah, king of the Gileadites, to distinguish the fleeing Ephraimites, who could not pronounce the sh sound, from his own men.  The word passed into English from this passage and was gradually extended to a more general use, to mean any word, phrase, or sound which can be used as a test to detect outsiders or foreigners.  For example, "They had a shibboleth to discover them, he who pronounced Brot and Cawse for Bread and Cheese hat his head lopt off" [John Cleveland, 1658]. 

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