Christian Corti via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> writes: > What is the difference between buss/buses(pl.) and bus/busses(pl.)? > I mean, you don't say omnibuss, do you?
No difference -- they're variant spellings of the same word. From the examples given in the OED, it looks like "buss" was originally the more common spelling when people first started shortening "omnibus". It might have been influenced by older words in English pronounced the same way, e.g. "buss" meaning "to kiss", or "a buss" being a type of fishing boat. Both spellings were in use by the time "bus[s]-bar" was invented, which is where the computer sense comes from. We wouldn't call a vehicle a "buss" any more, but both spellings survive in electronics. -- Adam Sampson <a...@offog.org> <http://offog.org/>
