Siss

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A dialect word for a sister, heard mainly in Scottish and northern English speech ; an informal, mildly derogatory term for a timid or effeminate boy or man
2. Regional speech meaning a female sibling, chiefly in Scotland and northern England ; slang for a cowardly or overly feminine male, used as an insult
3. A Scottish and northern English term for one's sister ; a casual, belittling label for a fearful or unmanly person, often aimed at boys

Etymology: The noun "siss" is a word with a short, sound-driven history. Its origin lies in imitation: the sound of a hiss, spelled out. Middle English "sissen" meant "to hiss" or "to buzz," and it is perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German forms with the same sense. Those forms are related to modern Dutch "sissen" and German "zischen," which likewise describe the hissing of steam, a snake, or an angry crowd. Because the verb was formed to mimic the noise itself, the noun grew out of that same echo. The word is a reminder that many of our oldest words for sounds were built by copying the sounds, rather than by inheriting them from classical languages.

Synonyms: sissy, wimp, coward