DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 shib·bo·leth /ˈʃɪbələθ ||ˌlɛθ/
 獨特的習慣;口語或標語

 Shib·bo·leth n.
 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 used 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.
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 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

 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."

 Shibboleth, Sibboleth, ear of corn; stream or flood