Etymology

buss

B3U1S1S1

Today it means: A kiss. Full definition →

Proto-Indo-European *bʰus- ← Proto-Germanic *busaną
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buss · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*busaną
  2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰus-“lip, to kiss”
  3. English todaybuss

Uncertain. First attested in the 1560s. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰus- (“lip, to kiss”) via Proto-Germanic *busaną (compare German bussen), but in any case imitative of kissing. Compare Welsh bus (“kiss, lip”) and Irish bus (“lips, mouth”) (both may have influenced English), Persian بوس (bus, “kiss”), Latvian buča (“kiss”), Latin basium (“kiss”). Mainstream proposals like in The Free Dictionary have suggested it is a blend of old English dialect words bass (related to French baiser) and cuss (akin to kissen); perhaps compare puss.

buss · noun2

  1. Dutch · borrowed frombuis
  2. Dutch · borrowed frombuis
  3. English todaybuss

Borrowed from Dutch buis.

buss · noun3

Clipping of bussing.

buss · noun4

Clipping of blunderbuss.

buss · verb5

Alternative form of bust (coda-simplification).

Buss · proper noun6

  1. Middle English · derived frombush
  2. Old French · derived frombusse“cask, barrel”
  3. English todayBuss

* Occupational surname for a cooper, from Old French busse (“cask, barrel”). * Cognominal surname for someone rotund, like a barrel. * Toponymic surname for someone living or working near a bush or thicket of bushes, from Middle English bush. * Patronymic surname derived from a hypocoristic form of personal names beginning with Burg, such as Burghardt.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*bʰus- all →

bolt

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.