bus

bus

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bus"

English

A bus (motor vehicle).

Etymology

Clipping of omnibus. Formerly often spelt 'bus. The electrical sense is derived from figurative application of the automotive sense.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʌs/, enPR: bŭs
  • (Northern England, Ireland) IPA^(key): /bʊs/
  • (General Australian, New Zealand, Received Pronunciation, Scotland, Mid-Atlantic) IPA^(key): /bɐs/
  • (Northern Cities Vowel Shift, Ireland) IPA^(key): /bɔs/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: Buss, buss
• Rhymes: -ʌs

Noun

bus (plural buses or busses)

1. (automotive) A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.
2. An electrical conductor or interface serving as a common connection for two or more circuits or components.
3. Part of a MIRV missile, having on-board motors used to deliver the warhead to a target.
4. (medical industry, slang) An ambulance.

Synonyms

• (electrical conductor): electrical bus, busbar, digit trunk
• (vehicle): autobus, coach, loser cruiser, motorbus, multibus, omnibus, Shillibeer (obsolete)

Hyponyms

• booze bus
• computer bus
• short bus

 

Derived terms

• and then everyone on the bus clapped
• articulated bus
• banana bus
• battle bus
• bendy bus
• Boris bus
• bus bar
• busbar
• bus bridge
• bus buddy
• bus bulb
• bus captain
• bus conductor
• bus conductress
• bus driver
• bus duct
• bus factor
• bus fare
• bus lane
• bus mastering
• bus ministry
• bus pass
• bus rapid transit
• bus replacement service
• bus route
• bus shelter
• bus stand
• bus station
• bus stop
• bus stop chicane
• bus-stop flight
• bustitution
• bus topology
• bus trap
• busway
• catch the bus
• cheese bus
• city bus
• commuter bus
• corporation bus
• data bus
• double-decker bus
• drive the porcelain bus
• e-bus
• electric bus
• enterprise service bus
• front-side bus
• have a face like the back end of a bus
• horse bus
• how do I get to the bus station
• kneeling bus
• like the back end of a bus
• minibus
• miss the bus
• open-top bus
• park the beef bus in tuna town
• park the bus
• party bus
• porcelain bus
• railbus
• ride the short bus
• satellite bus
• school bus
• school bus yellow
• shuttle bus
• spacecraft bus
• splitter bus
• stage bus
• straddling bus
• struggle bus
• the wheels came off the bus
• the wheels fell off the bus
• throw under the bus
• tour bus
• transit bus
• trolleybus
• trolley bus
• walking bus
• walking school bus
• water bus
• where does this bus go

 

Descendants

Descendants

• ⇒ Burmese: ဘတ်စ်ကား (bhatcka:)
• → Chinese:
  • Cantonese: 巴士 (baa1 si6-2)
    • → Mandarin: 巴士 (bāshì)
• → German: Bus m
• → Irish: bus
• → Japanese: バス (basu)
• → Korean: 버스 (beoseu)
• → Malay: bas
• ⇒ Sanskrit: बसयान (basayāna)
• → Scottish Gaelic: bus
• → Tibetan: འབའ་སེ ('ba' se)
• → Welsh: bws

Translations

See bus/translations § Noun.

Verb

bus (third-person singular simple present busses or buses, present participle bussing or busing, simple past and past participle bussed or bused)

1. (transitive, automotive, transport) To transport via a motor bus.
2. (transitive, automotive, transport, chiefly US) To transport students to school, often to a more distant school for the purposes of achieving racial integration.
   • 1966, Phil Ochs, "Love Me, I'm a Liberal", Phils Ochs in Concert.

     But if you ask me to bus my children / I hope the cops take down your name

   • 2008, Ashley R. Holm, Racial Differences in Student Engagement and Attainment: A Study of Topeka High School, 1939--1984, ProQuest, →ISBN, page 23:

     ...to strike down Detroit's federal court order to bus students across school district lines for the purpose of desegregation and therefore nullify many busing programs throughout the country.

3. (intransitive, automotive, transport) To travel by bus.
4. (transitive, US, food service) To clear meal remains from.

   He bussed tables as the restaurant emptied out.

   • 2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 13:

     He was hired to bus tables, but after a few incidents they moved him to the kitchen.

5. (intransitive, US, food service) To work at clearing the remains of meals from tables or counters; to work as a busboy.

   He’s been bussing for minimum wage.

Usage notes

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary only presents the spellings buses, busing, and bused, implying that these are the predominant forms in Canada.

Derived terms

• (clear meal remains): busboy

Translations

See bus/translations § Verb.

Anagrams

• SBU, UBS, USB, sub, sub-, sub.

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Afar

Etymology

Akin to Saho bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbus/
• Hyphenation: bus

Noun

bús m (plural buswá f or busuusá f)

1. vagina

Declension

Declension of bús
absolutive	bús
predicative	búsu
subjective	bús
genitive	bustí
Postpositioned forms l-case búsul k-case búsuk t-case búsut h-case búsuh

References

• E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985), “bus”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN

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Afrikaans

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

bus (plural busse, diminutive bussie)

1. (automotive) bus

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Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈbus/
• Homophone: vos (Central)

Etymology 1

Cognate to Spanish buso (“underwater snail”) and Portuguese búzio (“underwater snail”), from Latin būcina (“horn”).

Noun

bus m or f (plural bussos)

1. diver

Derived terms

• bussejar

Etymology 2

Probably from Old Norse buza (“big wide ship”).

Noun

bus m (plural bussos)

1. (archaic) A large sailing ship used in the 12th and 13th centuries, broad of beam and with two or three masts.

Etymology 3

Probably from Persian بوس‎ (bus, “kiss”).

Noun

bus m (plural busos)

1. (archaic) flattery

Usage notes

Only found in the phrase fer lo bus (“to kiss up”).

Etymology 4

Clipping of autobús.

Noun

bus m (plural busos)

1. bus (vehicle)

Etymology 5

Borrowed from English bus.

Noun

bus m (plural busos)

1. bus (electrical connector)

Further reading

• “bus” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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Cimbrian

Etymology

From Italian bus, a clipping of omnibus, from French omnibus.

Noun

bus m

1. (Luserna) bus (vehicle)

   Benn rifta dar bus? ― What time does the bus come?

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

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Czech

Noun

bus m

1. bus (motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads)

Synonyms

• autobus

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Danish

Etymology

Shortening of omnibus, from French omnibus, from Latin omnibus (“for all”), dative plural of omnis (“all”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bus/, [b̥us]

Noun

bus c (singular definite bussen, plural indefinite busser)

1. bus, coach

Inflection

Declension of bus

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	bus	bussen	busser	busserne
genitive	bus’	bussens	bussers	bussernes

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʏs/

• audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bus
• Rhymes: -ʏs
• Homophone: Bus

Etymology 1

Shortening of omnibus, from Latin omnibus (“for everything/all”); dative plural of omnis (“all”).

Noun

bus m (plural bussen, diminutive busje n)

1. (transport) bus, omnibus (vehicle)
2. (transport, in diminutive) minibus, minivan
3. bus (electrical conductor)

Derived terms

• autobus
• bestelbus
• bibliobus
• busbaan
• buschauffeur
• busconducteur
• bushalte
• buslijn
• busreis
• busrit
• busverbinding
• busverkeer
• buurtbus
• hippiebus
• kippenbus
• lijnbus
• minibus
• schoolbus
• snelbus
• stadsbus
• streekbus
• toerbus

 

Descendants

• → Caribbean Javanese: bis
• → Papiamentu: bùs
• → Sranan Tongo: bùs
  • → Aukan: besi
  • → Saramaccan: bési

Etymology 2

From Middle Dutch busse, from Old Dutch *bussa, from Proto-West Germanic *buhsā.

Noun

bus f (plural bussen, diminutive busje n)

1. A container, a box, a tin.
2. A bushing.
3. (chiefly historical) One of a variety of early modern firearms, such as flintlock and matchlock guns.
4. (dated, Netherlands) A voluntary sick fund, especially before the introduction of universal health care in the Netherlands in the 1940s.

Derived terms

• beschuitbus
• brievenbus
• broodbus
• busdokter
• busgeschut
• buskruit
• busmeester
• collectebus
• donderbus
• drinkbus
• geldbus
• haakbus
• koffiebus
• melkbus
• postbus
• schoolbus
• schrootbus
• stembus
• suikerbus
• ziekenbus

 

Related terms

• buks

Descendants

• Petjo: bus
• → Indonesian: bis (“letterbox, mailbox”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form. Related to etymology 2.

Verb

bus

1. first-person singular present indicative of bussen
2. imperative of bussen

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French

Etymology 1

Clipping of omnibus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bys/
• Homophones: busse, busses, bussent

Noun

bus m or f (plural bus)

1. bus

   Synonym: autobus

Derived terms

• arrêt de bus
• bus accordéon
• bus scolaire
• service rapide par bus

Etymology 2

Inflected forms.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /by/
• Homophones: bu, bue, bues, but, bût

Verb

bus

1. first/second-person singular past historic of boire

Participle

bus m pl

1. masculine plural of the past participle of boire

Further reading

• “bus”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Indonesian

Alternative forms

• bas (Standard Malay)
• bis (nonstandard)

Etymology 1

bus

Internationalism, borrowed from Dutch bus, from Latin omnibus (“for everything/all”); dative plural of omnis (“all”).

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): [ˈbʊs]
• (dialect) IPA^(key): [ˈbɪs], [ˈbəs], [ˈbas], [ˈbɘs]
• Rhymes: -bʊs, -ʊs, -s
• Hyphenation: bus

Noun

bus (plural bus-bus, first-person possessive busku, second-person possessive busmu, third-person possessive busnya)

1. bus: a motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic, related to embus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʊs/
• Hyphenation: bus

Noun

bus (first-person possessive busku, second-person possessive busmu, third-person possessive busnya)

1. wind

Further reading

• “bus” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

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Irish

Etymology

Borrowed from English bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bˠʊsˠ/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /bˠɞsˠ/

Noun

bus m (genitive singular bus, nominative plural busanna)

1. bus
2. (computing) bus

Declension

Declension of bus

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative bus busanna Vocative a bhus a bhusanna Genitive bus busanna Dative bus busanna

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an bus na busanna Genitive an bhus na mbusanna Dative leis an mbus don bhus leis na busanna

Derived terms

• bus altach (“bendy bus”)
• busáras (“bus station”)
• bus dhá stór (“double decker bus”)
• bus dhá urlár (“double decker bus”)
• buslána (“bus lane”)
• bus scoile (“school bus”)
• bus tralaí (“trolleybus”)
• lána bus (“bus lane”)
• líne busanna (“bus line”)
• pas bus (“bus pass”)
• scáthlán bus (“bus shelter”)
• stad bus (“bus-stop”)
• stáisiún bus (“bus station”)
• stiúrthóir bus (“bus conductor”)
• tairseach bus (“platform of bus”)
• tiománaí bus (“bus-driver”)

 

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
bus	bhus	mbus
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “bus”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Finck, F. N. (1899), Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 48.
• “bus” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.
• Entries containing “bus” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.

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Lithuanian

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bʊs]

Verb

bùs

1. third-person singular future of būti
2. third-person plural future of būti
3. third-person singular future of busti
4. third-person plural future of busti

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Lombard

Etymology

Akin to Italian buca, ultimately from Latin bucca, whence French French bouche.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /byːs/

Noun

bus

1. hole

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Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buːs/

Verb

bus

1. second-person singular imperative of bies

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Middle Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *bussus, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew- (“to swell, bulge”).

Noun

bus (gender unknown)

1. (rare, poetic) lip

Descendants

• Irish: pus
• Scottish Gaelic: bus

Further reading

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “4 bus”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*bussu-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 84

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Norman

Verb

bus

1. first-person singular preterite of baithe

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Polish

Etymology

Contraction of autobus, borrowed from English bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bus/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -us
• Syllabification: bus

Noun

bus m anim (diminutive busik)

1. (colloquial) bus

Declension

Declension of bus

	singular	plural
nominative	bus	busy
genitive	busu/busa	busów
dative	busowi	busom
accusative	bus/busa	busy
instrumental	busem	busami
locative	busie	busach
vocative	busie	busy

Derived terms

nouns

• aerobus
• barobus
• bibliobus
• szynobus

 

Further reading

• bus in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• bus in Polish dictionaries at PWN

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Romagnol

FWOTD – 6 April 2014

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bus/

Noun

bus m

1. hole
   • September 2012, Daniela Cortesi, Bônanòta in la Ludla, il Papiro, page 15:

     un sorg e’ cor in priscia int e’ su bus.

     a mouse runs hastily towards its hole.

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Scottish Gaelic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pus̪/

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish bus.

Noun

bus m (genitive singular buis, plural buis or busan)

1. mouth

   Synonym: beul

2. pout (facial expression)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bus.

Noun

bus m (genitive singular bus, plural busaichean)

1. bus

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Lenition
bus	bhus
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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Somali

Noun

bus ?

1. dust

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Spanish

Etymology

Shortening of autobús (in Spain) or borrowed from English bus (in Latin America).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbus/ [ˈbus]
• Rhymes: -us
• Syllabification: bus

Noun

bus m (plural buses)

1. Clipping of autobús; bus

   Synonyms: autobús; see also Thesaurus:autobús

Usage notes

In Spain, bus is a colloquial word and in Latin America it is a formal word.

Derived terms

• bus de cortesía
• bus oruga
• busero

Related terms

• ómnibus
• trolebús

 

Further reading

• “bus”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

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Swedish

Etymology

From the verb busa (“make mischief, prank”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʉːs/, [bʉ͍ːs]
• Rhymes: -ʉːs

Noun

bus n (uncountable)

1. (fairly innocent) mischief (by children), pranking

   Trick or treat ― Bus eller godis ("Mischief or candy")

2. (chiefly in the definite "buset") criminals (on the lower rungs of the social ladder)

   att ta fast buset ― to catch the criminals

Usage notes

Mainly associated with mischief and pranks by children, with ironic extensions to adults fooling around and criminality.

Declension

Declension of bus
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	bus	buset	—	—
Genitive	bus	busets	—	—

Derived terms

• busig
• busunge
• busvissla
• NetBus

Related terms

• busa (“make mischief, prank”)

Anagrams

• sub

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Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English bus.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: bus
• (common) IPA^(key): /ˈbus/, [ˈbus]
• (Taglish) IPA^(key): /ˈbas/, [ˈbas]

Noun

bus (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜓᜐ᜔)

1. bus (vehicle)

   Synonym: awtobus

2. bus (electrical conductor)

Usage notes

• The pronunciation /bas/ is commonly used in Taglish speech, especially by younger speakers.

Derived terms

• ibus
• magbus
• pambus

 

See also

• kamyon
• kotse
• sasakyan
• trak

 

References

• “bus”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila: Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, 2018

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Tok Pisin

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Etymology

From English bush.

Noun

bus

1. bush (remote rural areas)
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:25:

     God i kamapim ol kain kain animal bilong ples na ol bikpela na liklik animal bilong bus. God i lukim olgeta dispela samting i gutpela, na em i amamas.

     →New International Version translation

Derived terms

• bus kanaka

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West Flemish

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch busch, variant of bosch, from Old Dutch *busc, from Proto-Germanic *buskaz.

Noun

bus n

1. forest

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Same as Dutch "bus", but is it derived from that or shortened from "omnibus" independently?”)

Noun

bus m

1. bus