To express contempt (Job 27:23). The destruction of the temple is thus spoken of (1 Kings 9:8). Zechariah (10:8) speaks of the Lord gathering the house of Judah as it were with a hiss: "I will hiss for them." This expression may be "derived from the noise made to attract bees in hiving, or from the sound naturally made to attract a person's attention."

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (v. i.) To make with the mouth a prolonged sound like that of the letter s, by driving the breath between the tongue and the teeth; to make with the mouth a sound like that made by a goose or a snake when angered; esp., to make such a sound as an expression of hatred, passion, or disapproval.

2. (v. i.) To make a similar noise by any means; to pass with a sibilant sound; as, the arrow hissed as it flew.

3. (v. t.) To condemn or express contempt for by hissing.

4. (v. t.) To utter with a hissing sound.

5. (n.) A prolonged sound like that letter s, made by forcing out the breath between the tongue and teeth, esp. as a token of disapprobation or contempt.

6. (n.) Any sound resembling that above described

7. (n.) The noise made by a serpent.

8. (n.) The note of a goose when irritated.

9. (n.) The noise made by steam escaping through a narrow orifice, or by water falling on a hot stove.