Meanings
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1
intj
an archaic call used quietly to attract attention or command silence
Hist! Someone is coming along the passage.
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2
noun
an abbreviation of history, especially in journal titles and bibliographic citations
In the citation, Nat. Hist. abbreviates natural history.
Thesaurus
Etymology
The interjection is an imitative hush or attention-getting call recorded since late Middle English; compare whist and hiss. The bibliographic use is unrelated in formation: hist. is simply a written shortening of history.