English
bus
Bus comes from French omnibus ‘omnibus, bus’, from Latin omnis ‘every’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opnis‘every’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEomnis‘every’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEomnibus
- Frenchc. 1600–presentomnibus‘omnibus’
- English1500–presentomnibus
- Englishearliest quotation 1927bus
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃ep-‘to work’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*opnis‘every’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEomnis‘every’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEomnibus
- Frenchc. 1600–presentomnibus‘omnibus’
- English1500–presentomnibus
- Englishearliest quotation 1927bus
Earliest quotation: 1927, Dorothy Sayers: “Excuse me,” said the stranger, who turned out to…”
The story
Superseded earlier 'bus, where the apostrophe indicated a clipping. The electrical sense is derived from figurative application of the automotive sense.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- ‘to work, toil, make’
office, official, operation, copy, operate, operator, opera, copious, oeuvre, opulence, opus, officiate, officiant, officious, 23 more
through Latin omnis ‘every’
through Latin omnibus
through English omnibus
Today it means
noun A motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- / bus