Word Confusion: Bus versus Buss

Posted November 16, 2012 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
28 June 2023

I gotta admit, I’m prejudiced. And rather embarrassed about how wrong I am. I’m so accustomed to seeing a buss as a kiss, that I simply can’t reconcile myself to busses being multiple city or school buses. It just ain’t right.

And, I’m wrong. Technically.

It’s just that mental image I get every time I see a sign posted on the freeway, pointing to a pull-out lot for busses. I keep thinking that I can either get a kiss for a buck, or there are buses necking in there! Ooh, baby!

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Bus Buss
Three yellow school buses in a row traveling on the highway with a grey sky behind them

Triple School Buses by -Maik- is under the CC BY-ND 2.0 license, via VisualHunt.


Little girl kisses the top of a dog's head

Reese Kisses Sage by Donnie Ray Jones is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Flickr.

A sweet buss on the head . . .

Part of Grammar:
Noun
Verb, intransitive & transitive

Plural for the noun: buses 1, busses
Gerund: busing 1, bussing

Third person present verb: buses 1, busses
Past tense or past participle: bused 1, bussed
Present participle: busing 1, bussing

1 Intelligently, Canada prefers the single “s”.

Formal name: omnibus

Alternative name: motorbus

Noun;
Verb, intransitive & transitive

Plural for the noun: busses
Gerund: bussing

Third person present verb: busses
Past tense or past participle: bussed
Present participle: bussing

Noun:
Large motor vehicle carrying passengers by road

[Computers] Distinct set of conductors carrying data and control signals within a computer system, to which pieces of equipment may be connected in parallel

A car or vehicle that is old and/or unreliable

Verb, intransitive:
To travel on or by means of a bus

Verb, transitive:
Travel or move by bus

To transport pupils to school by bus, especially as a means of achieving socioeconomic or racial diversity among students in a public school

Remove dirty dishes and cutlery from a table in a cafeteria or restaurant

Noun
[Archaic, informal] Kiss

Verb, intransitive:
[Archaic, dialect] Kiss

Verb, transitive:
[Archaic, dialect] Kiss

[Archaic] To talk about

  • Gossip over
Examples:
Noun:
I’ll just take the bus.

It’s connected using a serial bus.

Does this town even have bus service?

What? This old bus??

Verb, intransitive:
We bused to New York on a theater trip.

Verb, transitive:
We’ll bus the hostages to a hotel.

Busing pupils to school was the only way they could see to achieve socioeconomic or racial diversity among students in a public school.

We’ll have to bus those tables to get ready for the next diners.

Noun:
Oh, go on and give the lass a buss.

“So compose yourself to-night, and I promise you you shall have an opportunity of doing yourself justice.” Here he gave Jones a hearty buss, shook him by the hand, and took his leave” (Fielding).

Verb, intransitive:
They bussed.

Verb, transitive:
He bussed her.

“Come, grin on me, and I will thinke thou smil’st,
And busse thee as thy wife . . .” – Shakespeare, King John

Quit bussin’ about my dress.

Derivatives:
Noun: busbar, busboy, busload, busman, busser
History of the Word:
Early 19th century. Late 16th century and an alteration of the late Middle English bass, probably from the French baiser, which evolved from the Latin basiare.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Bus versus Buss

Apple Dictionary.com

Fielding, Henry. The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling. 2012. <https://amzn.to/3sIDKhS>. Ebook. Originally published 1749.

The Free Dictionary: buss

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Pinterest Photo Credits:

Women Kissing in the Bus by cottonbro studio is in the public domain, via Pexels.

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2 responses to “Word Confusion: Bus versus Buss

    • I agree! It’s so wonderfully complex with such subtle possibilities! And then there’s the history of its evolution…sigh… Too much fun!