What is a shibboleth?

A shibboleth is a practice of identifying the members of a community or a clan and their social and regional origin. The term originated from the Hebrew language which literally means ‘the part of the plant’s. In modern usage, it is used to solve numerous conflicts between groups speaking different languages of dialects, and is also used to discover hidden members of the opposing group. Today, in English, a shibboleth has a wider meaning, referring to any ‘in crowd’ word or phrase that can be used to distinguish members of a group from outsiders, even when not used for a hostile purpose.