- 1an old idea, principle, or phrase that is no longer accepted by many people as important or appropriate to modern life the crumbling of old political shibboleths
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- 2a custom, word, etc. that distinguishes one group of people from another From a Hebrew word meaning “ear of corn.” In the Bible story, Jephthah, the leader of the Gileadites, was able to use it as a test to tell which were his own men, because others found the “sh” sound difficult to pronounce.
Check pronunciation: shibboleth