omnibus
Meaning
A volume containing several works previously published separately.
A bus, especially one for public transport.
Comprising several items.
Structure
Usage
The library published an omnibus of the author's early novels.
We took the omnibus from the city center to the museum.
The government proposed an omnibus bill addressing several unrelated issues.
Etymology
The word originates from the Latin dative plural form "omnibus", meaning "for all". It was first adopted into French and then English in the early 19th century as a name for a public horse-drawn vehicle that was "for all" people, distinguishing it from private carriages. This term was later clipped to form the modern word "bus". The original Latin form "omnibus" was simultaneously borrowed to describe a book containing a collection of works "for all" tastes or a single legislative bill containing diverse provisions "for all" purposes, giving rise to its adjectival use.
Analysis
omni: Latin origin, meaning "all". It functions as a combining form in English. bus: A clipping of the Latin dative plural suffix "-ibus", meaning "for". In the original Latin phrase "omnibus" (for all), it functioned as a grammatical case ending.