Busses or Amusement Parks?
The Kid paid thirty bucks to go to an amusement park with her school group this week.
She paid twenty bucks for the fancy-pants bus to ride in, on the 2-hour trip to and from the amusement park.
Guess which one she blabbed on and on about afterwards?
There’s a lesson in here somewhere.
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
*Today’s title is based on a sign at The Kid’s school that says, “Buses Park Here.” I don’t care that both are acceptable, that spelling drives me crazy. 
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8 June 2010, 9:34 am
Ah, a Tuesday morning etymology challenge! Love it!
I poked around a bit — ‘cuz I like to do that sort of thing — and found that the truth is that both “buses” and “busses” are correct because both are technically wrong.
It’s similar to the problem with “focuses” and “focusses”. They are the (now) accepted plural of the Latin-derived word “focus”, though the correct term is “foci”.
However with bus, the problem is compounded because “bus” is not really a word. It is the short form of the word “omnibus”, an adjective appropriated in France and shortly thereafter England to become a noun to describe an open, public, horse-drawn carriage. (This was as opposed to a carosse, which was a private carriage.) http://www.wordwizard.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=21203 – scroll down three-quarters or search the page for “omni-”
Therefore, the short form should actually be ‘bus.
Going one step further: if omnibus had originally been a noun in Latin, the plural would likely be, following the rules of Latin grammar, “omnibi” (as it is with “foci” instead of “focuses”).
English being English though, omnibi certainly was not going to catch on. I poked around some more and found a basis for “omnibusses” in Scientific American, Volume 4, 1861 http://books.google.com/books?id=qDJJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA236&dq=omnibusses&cd=6#v=onepage&q=omnibusses&f=false
However I also found several references to “omnibuses”, so there is no conclusive evidence there either.
As is often frustratingly true of English, there are no firm rules here — anything goes. I guess ultimately though, we can all be thankful the sign did’t say:
‘Bi Park Here
(Can we at least all agree that that would stink?)
~Graham
8 June 2010, 5:37 pm
Graham,
Best. Comment. Ever.
And yes, we can agree. ‘Bi Park Here would stink far worse.
When I see “buses” I hear a b with the pronunciation of “fuses.” And it drives me mad. I knew both were correct-ish, but I didn’t know anything about their both being incorrect! Very cool!
(This must be what I keep writing the blog for. Learn something old every day, haha.)
Regards,
Kelly
9 June 2010, 7:48 am
Thank Kelly!
Yes, I enjoy digging up word origins. In fact I was going to get business cards made up that said “Graham Strong, Etymologist” but I knew people would get that confused with “entomologist” and that would just bug me…
(Ba Dom Bomp)
~Graham
11 June 2010, 8:47 am