omnibus
OM-nih-bus
/ˈɒmnɪbəs/
A volume containing several novels or other items previously published separately; a bill or law that covers many diverse items.
In a legal context, an omnibus bill is often controversial because it forces legislators to vote on many unrelated items at once.
The story behind the word. In 1820s Paris, a transportation service began using large carriages. A hatter named Omnès had a shop called 'Omnès Omnibus' (Omnès for all). The name was adopted for the vehicles because they were 'for everyone'.
Word relationships
- compilation: Compilation is general; omnibus specifically implies a large, all-encompassing collection.
- anthology: Anthology usually refers to a collection of poems or short stories by different authors.
Commonly confused with
- anthology: An omnibus is usually the works of one author or one specific series; an anthology is often diverse authors.
Word family
- bus (noun): A large public vehicle (shortened from omnibus).
Collocations
- omnibus bill
- omnibus edition
- omnibus volume
Example sentences
- "The publisher released an omnibus edition of the detective's first three cases." Publishing.
- "The government passed an omnibus spending bill that included funding for everything from defense to national parks." Politics.
Memory hook
An omnibus is like a 'bus' that picks up 'all' the stories or 'all' the laws and puts them in one place. For all / All in one.
When not to use
Don't use it to mean a regular city bus in modern conversation, though that is where the word 'bus' comes from.
Fun facts
- The word 'bus' is actually just the tail end of 'omnibus'. We've been using a suffix as a noun for over 150 years!
Related words
Explore more words
anthology, legislation, bill, Binding, Conglomerate, collection
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.