autobus

See also: Autobus and autobús

English

WOTD – 13 July 2022

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew

Proto-Indo-European *tó-

Proto-Hellenic *autós

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.

Ancient Greek αὖ (aû)

Ancient Greek τόν (tón)

Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós)

Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor.

French auto-

Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti

Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti

Proto-Italic *moweō

Latin moveō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin mōbilislbor.

French mobile

French automobilebor.

English automobileclip.

English auto-

English bus

English autobus

An autobus (sense 1) in Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France, in 1966.

The autobus (sense 2) at Stage 10 of the 2005 Tour de France.

From auto- (prefix meaning ‘self’, in the sense of being self-propelled) +‎ bus. Sense 2 (“large group of cyclists who have fallen behind the peloton”) is borrowed from French autobus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɔːtə(ʊ)bʌs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɔtoʊˌbʌs/, [ˈɔɾə-]
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈɑtoʊˌbʌs/, [ˈɑɾə-]
• Hyphenation: au‧to‧bus

Noun

autobus (plural autobuses or autobusses)

1. (road transport, dated) A motorbus, as opposed to earlier horse-drawn buses.
2. (by extension, cycle racing) A large group of cyclists who have fallen behind the peloton (“main group of riders”) in a race.

   Synonyms: groupetto, gruppetto, laughing group

Translations

bus that is a motor vehicle

• Albanian: autobus (sq) m
• Arabic: أُتُوبُوس m (ʔutūbūs), أُتُوبِيس m (ʔutūbīs)

  Moroccan Arabic: طوبيس m (tobis)

• Aramaic:

  Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܐܘܿܛܘܿܒܘܼܣ m (ōṭōbūs), ܡܵܘܒܠܵܢܬܵܐ f (māwblāntā)

• Azerbaijani: avtobus (az)
• Basque: autobus (eu)
• Belarusian: аўто́бус (be) m (awtóbus)
• Bezhta: автобус (avtobus)
• Crimean Tatar: avtobus
• Czech: autobus (cs) m
• Dutch: autobus (nl) m
• Esperanto: aŭtobuso (eo)
• Finnish: autobussi (fi)
• French: autobus (fr) m
• Galician: autobús m
• German: Autobus (de) m
• Greek: οτομπίς n (otompís) (Egyptiot dialect), οτομπούς n (otompoús) (Egyptiot dialect)
• Indonesian: otobus (id)
• Italian: autobus (it) m
• Karakalpak: аўтобус
• Khmer: អូតូប៊ុស (ʼoutoubuh)
• Latvian: autobuss m
• Malagasy: aotobosy (mg)
• Persian: اتوبوس (fa) (otobus)
• Polish: autobus (pl) m
• Romanian: autobus (ro) n, autobuz (ro) n
• Russian: авто́бус (ru) m (avtóbus)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ауто́бус m

  Latin: autóbus (sh) m

• Sicilian: autubbussu m
• Slovak: autobus (sk) m
• Slovene: ȃvtobus (sl) m
• Spanish: autobús (es) m (Spain, Venezuela)
• Tajik: автобус (tg) (avtobus)
• Turkish: otobüs (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: اتوبوس (otobüs)

• Uzbek: avtobus (uz)
• Vietnamese: ô tô buýt (vi)
• Yiddish: ויטאָבוס m (oytobus)

large group of cyclists who have fallen behind the peloton

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: （自行車比賽）落後的集團 / （自行车比赛）落后的集团 ((zìxíngchēbǐsài) luòhòudejítuán)

• Czech: grupeto (cs) n
• Danish: gruppetto
• Dutch: bus (nl) m, gruppetto ?
• Finnish: gruppetto (fi)
• French: autobus (fr) f, gruppetto (fr) m
• German: Gruppetto (de) n
• Hebrew: גרופטו ?
• Italian: gruppetto (it) m
• Japanese: グルペット
• Latvian: autobuss m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gruppetto ?

Further reading

• autobus (cycling) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• glossary of cycling on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “autobus”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• autosub

Albanian

Etymology

Internationalism, compare Italian autobus.

Noun

autobús m (plural autobúsë, definite autobúsi)

1. bus

Declension

Declension of autobus

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	autobus	autobusi	autobusë	autobusët
accusative		autobusin
dative	autobusi	autobusit	autobusëve	autobusëve
ablative			autobusësh

Further reading

• “autobus”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1], 1980
• Newmark, Leonard (1999), “autobus”, in Oxford Albanian-English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Basque

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

autobus inan

1. bus
   • 2026 August 17, Irati Montiel Bravo, “Renfek autobusekin ordezkatu ditu Tolosa eta Beasain arteko tren zerbitzuak”, in Berria:

     Erabiltzaileen garraio zerbitzua bermatzeko, Adifek autobusak jarriko ditu itxitako zatian Renfeko aldiriko, distantzia ertaineko eta distantzia luzeko tren zerbitzuak ordezkatzeko.

     To guarantee passenger transport service, Adif will provide buses on the closed section to replace Renfe commuter, medium-distance, and long-distance train services.

Declension

Declension of autobus (inan C-stem)

	indefinite	singular	plural	proximal plural
absolutive	autobus	autobusa	autobusak	autobusok
ergative	autobusek	autobusak	autobusek	autobusok
dative	autobusi	autobusari	autobusei	autobusoi
genitive	autobusen	autobusaren	autobusen	autobuson
comitative	autobusekin	autobusarekin	autobusekin	autobusokin
causative	autobusengatik	autobusarengatik	autobusengatik	autobusongatik
benefactive	autobusentzat	autobusarentzat	autobusentzat	autobusontzat
instrumental	autobusez	autobusaz	autobusez	autobusotaz
inessive	autobusetan	autobusean	autobusetan	autobusotan
locative	autobusetako	autobuseko	autobusetako	autobusotako
allative	autobusetara	autobusera	autobusetara	autobusotara
terminative	autobusetaraino	autobuseraino	autobusetaraino	autobusotaraino
directive	autobusetarantz	autobuserantz	autobusetarantz	autobusotarantz
destinative	autobusetarako	autobuserako	autobusetarako	autobusotarako
ablative	autobusetatik	autobusetik	autobusetatik	autobusotatik
partitive	autobusik	—	—	—
prolative	autobustzat	—	—	—

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈau̯tobus]

Noun

autobus m inan (relational adjective autobusový)

1. bus, coach, omnibus
2. woodlouse (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?)

Declension

Declension of autobus (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	autobus	autobusy
genitive	autobusu	autobusů
dative	autobusu	autobusům
accusative	autobus	autobusy
vocative	autobuse	autobusy
locative	autobuse, autobusu	autobusech
instrumental	autobusem	autobusy

Further reading

• “autobus”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “autobus”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “autobus”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Dutch

Etymology

From English autobus or French autobus. Equivalent to auto +‎ bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑu̯.toːˌbʏs/, /ˈoː.toːˌbʏs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: au‧to‧bus

Noun

autobus m (plural autobussen, diminutive autobusje n)

1. bus, coach (vehicle)

Descendants

• → Indonesian: otobus

French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew

Proto-Indo-European *tó-

Proto-Hellenic *autós

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.

Ancient Greek αὖ (aû)

Ancient Greek τόν (tón)

Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós)

Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-)lbor.

French auto-

Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti

Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti

Proto-Italic *moweō

Latin moveō

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlom

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin mōbilislbor.

French mobile

French automobile

Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep-der.

Proto-Italic *opnis

Latin omnis

Latin omnibuslbor.

French omnibus

French autobus

Blend of automobile +‎ omnibus. Coined in 1907 in Paris.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o.tɔ.bys/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Noun

autobus m (invariable)

1. bus, coach (vehicle)

Derived terms

• autobus à impériale
• autobus à plate-forme

Descendants

• → Catalan: autobús
• → German: Autobus
• → Greek: οτομπούς (otompoús), οτομπίς (otompís) (Egyptiot Dialect)
• → Hebrew: אוֹטוֹבּוּס (ótobus)
• → Persian: اتوبوس (otobus)
• → Polish: autobus
  • → Belarusian: аўтобус (awtóbus)
• → Romanian: autobuz
• → Russian: авто́бус (avtóbus) (see there for further descendants)
• → Spanish: autobús
• → Turkish: otobüs

See also

• autocar

Further reading

• “autobus”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French autobus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaw.to.bus/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (un'autobus):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -awtobus
• Hyphenation: àu‧to‧bus

Noun

autobus m (invariable)

1. bus

   Synonym: pullman

Occitan

Alternative forms

• autobús

Pronunciation

• Audio (Béarn):

  (file)

Noun

autobus m (plural autobus) (Limousin)

1. bus

   Synonym: autobussa

2. motorcoach

   Synonym: autocar

Further reading

• Yves Lavalade (2010), Dictionnaire d'usage occitan/français - Limousin, Marche, Périgord (in French), Institut d'Estudis Occitans dau Lemosin, →ISBN; page 94

Polish

autobus

Etymology

Internationalism; compare French autobus, German Autobus, Russian авто́бус (avtóbus). By surface analysis, auto- +‎ bus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /awˈtɔ.bus/

• Audio 1:

  (file)

• Audio 2:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔbus
• Syllabification: au‧to‧bus

Noun

autobus m animal or m inan (diminutive autobusik, related adjective autobusowy)

1. bus (motor vehicle for transporting large numbers of people along roads)

Declension

Declension of autobus

	singular	plural
nominative	autobus	autobusy
genitive	autobusu/autobusa	autobusów
dative	autobusowi	autobusom
accusative	autobus/autobusa	autobusy
instrumental	autobusem	autobusami
locative	autobusie	autobusach
vocative	autobusie	autobusy

Derived terms

nouns

• autobus szynowy
• bus
• e-autobus

Descendants

• → Belarusian: аўтобус (awtóbus)

Further reading

• “autobus”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[2] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “autobus”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[3] (in Polish)

Romanian

Noun

autobus n (plural autobuse)

1. alternative form of autobuz

Declension

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	autobus	autobusul	autobuse	autobusele
genitive-dative	autobus	autobusului	autobuse	autobuselor
vocative	autobusule		autobuselor

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from English autobus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /autǒːbus/
• Hyphenation: a‧u‧to‧bus

Noun

autóbus m inan (Cyrillic spelling ауто́бус, relational adjective autobuski or autobusni)

1. bus

Declension

Declension of autobus

	singular	plural
nominative	autobus	autobusi
genitive	autobusa	autobusa
dative	autobusu	autobusima
accusative	autobus	autobuse
vocative	autobuse	autobusi
locative	autobusu	autobusima
instrumental	autobusom	autobusima

Derived terms

• autobuska stanica (Serbia)
• autobusna stanica (Croatia)

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈau̯tɔbus/

• Audio (Bratislava):

  (file)

Noun

autobus m inan (relational adjective autobusový)

1. a bus

Declension

Declension of autobus
(pattern dub)

	singular	plural
nominative	autobus	autobusy
genitive	autobusa, autobusu	autobusov
dative	autobusu	autobusom
accusative	autobus	autobusy
locative	autobuse	autobusoch
instrumental	autobusom	autobusmi

Related terms

• mikrobus
• trolejbus

See also

• električka

Further reading

• “autobus”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026