Omnibus Meaning
/ˈɒmnɪbəs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA bus (vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads).
nounAn anthology of previously released material linked together by theme or author, especially in book form.
Sentence Examples
An omnibus of Tom Jackson's work will be released on October 20.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The library has a thick ____ that contains all of the author's mysteries.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The publisher released an ____ edition containing all three novels in a single hardcover volume.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-der. Proto-Italic *opnis Latin omnis Latin omnibuslbor. French omnibusbor. English omnibus Borrowed from French (voiture) omnibus (“(carriage) for all”), from Latin omnibus (“for all”), dative plural of omnis (“all”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In front of the latter [coach-houses for railway carriages] is a handsome building, intended as offices for the clerks of the Company, coach-offices, and apartments for the reception and accommodation of passengers, who will be conveyed thither in omnibusses from Liverpool, and taking their respective places in the travelling carriages, will be let off down the inclined plane of the little Tunnel, to be hooked to the locomotives in the area, on the other side of the hill."
— 1830, James Scott Walker, “The Small Tunnel”, in An Accurate Description of the Liverpool and Manchester Rail-way, the Tunnel, the Bridges, and Other Works throughout the Line; an Account of the Opening of the Rail-way, and the Melancholy Incident which Occurred; a Short Memoir of the Late Right Hon. W[illia]m Huskisson, and Particulars of the Funeral Procession, &c. With a Map of the Line, and a View of the Bridge over Water Street, Manchester, 2nd edition, Liverpool: Printed & published by J. F. Cannell, 81, Lord-Street, →OCLC, page 20:
"Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn."
— 1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 16:
""Please," his voice quavered through the foul brown air, "Please, is that an omnibus?" / "Omnibus est," said the driver, without turning round."
— 1911, E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “The Celestial Omnibus. [Chapter II.]”, in The Celestial Omnibus: And Other Stories, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, →OCLC; republished London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd. Adam Street, Adelphi, W.C., 1912, →OCLC, page 61:
"When he came back to his work after lunch he carried in his head a picture of the Strand, scatted with omnibuses, and of the purple shapes of leaves pressed flat upon the gravel, as if his eyes had always been bent upon the ground."
— 1919 October 20, Virginia Woolf, chapter XIII, in Night and Day, London: Duckworth and Company, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1920, →OCLC, page 160:
"Omnibuses were advertised to run in connection with the trains to and from points in the City and West End; fare to the former 3d., to the latter 6d. from Bricklayers Arms."
— 1944 July and August, Reginald B. Fellows, “The Failure of Bricklayers Arms as a Passenger Station—I”, in Railway Magazine, page 212:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The library has a thick ____ that contains all of the author's mysteries.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The publisher released an ____ edition containing all three novels in a single hardcover volume.