n 1 old-fashioned bus. This is a quaint word, dating back to the times when buses were open at the rear and had a conductor ready to meet you. An omnibus is essentially one step technologically forward of a tram. 2 concatenated episodes of a week’s worth of television or radio series (typically soap operas) often screened at the weekends (also called “omnibus edition”). The Latin word “omnibus” means simply “for all,” which could explain both of these etymologies. I’m just saying that because I can’t be bothered checking either of them. I can’t even be bothered checking the Latin – someone just told me it. For all I know it’s Latin for pig-fucker.