

There, a shibboleth is a specific sort of a password that allows members of a particular community to access an online resource without needing to reveal their actual identity.Īdditionally, the term can be used pejoratively to refer to the process in which a symbol loses its original meaning, leading to a peculiar situation where a particular group of people are more familiar with the ceremonial/decorative purpose of a symbol than its actual meaning. Sometimes, this word simply serves as a synonym of the words jargon or slang, which are also words that primarily get used by members of a specific group or subculture.Īnother application of the term can be found in the IT community. Furthermore, it does not necessarily have to do with hostility or rivalry. For example, the word shibboleth can be used to refer to any in-group "coded" word or phrase that may distinguish members of a certain group from outsiders.

Therefore, today we mostly use this word not in its original sense but with other, more peaceful nuances.

In our modern-day world, we are not as exposed to warfare as our ancestors were. Photo by Evi Radauscher / UnsplashĪnother less common meaning of the word is “torrent” or “flow.” This meaning, that of a “special password,” may perhps be understood as referring to an uninterrupted flow of speech: the type of speech where it would be very noticable if you tripped over an unpronounceable word. Of note, this original meaning has largely been eclipsed in favor of the word's linguistic usage. Originally, the word shibbólet (שִׁבֹּלֶת) referred to the part of a plant that bears grain, such as the head of a stalk of wheat or rye.

Given the Biblical origins of the term, it’s clear that the word itself comes from Hebrew. As we saw in the Biblical story, shibboleths come in handy during wars - especially in order to figure out who might be an enemy spy. They are typically used as a sort of password, meant to distinguish one group of people from another. Shibboleths now refer to specific words that cannot be correctly pronounced by the speakers of another language.
