I did not know that
Word of the Day for December 6 was:
shibboleth • \SHIH-buh-luth\ • noun
1 a : a catchword or slogan used by members of a group but regarded by others as empty of real meaning b : a commonly held belief
2 : a behavior or use of language that identifies a person as belonging to a group
Example sentence:
Alice urged voters to ignore the political shibboleths put forth by her opponent.
Did you know?
The Bible's Book of Judges (12:4-6) tells the story of the Ephraimites, who, after they were routed by the Gileadite army, tried to retreat by sneaking across a ford of the Jordan River that was held by their enemy. The Gileadites, wary of the ploy, asked every soldier who tried to cross if he was an Ephraimite. When the soldier said "no," he was asked to say "shibboleth" (which means "stream" in Hebrew). Gileadites pronounced the word "shibboleth," but Ephraimites said "sibboleth." Anyone who left out the initial "sh" was killed on the spot. When English speakers first borrowed "shibboleth," they used it to mean "test phrase," but it has acquired other meanings since that time.
1 a : a catchword or slogan used by members of a group but regarded by others as empty of real meaning b : a commonly held belief
2 : a behavior or use of language that identifies a person as belonging to a group
Example sentence:
Alice urged voters to ignore the political shibboleths put forth by her opponent.
Did you know?
The Bible's Book of Judges (12:4-6) tells the story of the Ephraimites, who, after they were routed by the Gileadite army, tried to retreat by sneaking across a ford of the Jordan River that was held by their enemy. The Gileadites, wary of the ploy, asked every soldier who tried to cross if he was an Ephraimite. When the soldier said "no," he was asked to say "shibboleth" (which means "stream" in Hebrew). Gileadites pronounced the word "shibboleth," but Ephraimites said "sibboleth." Anyone who left out the initial "sh" was killed on the spot. When English speakers first borrowed "shibboleth," they used it to mean "test phrase," but it has acquired other meanings since that time.
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