A vehicle like a bus (short for "omnibus") meant a horse-drawn carriage in the 1860s. The unmarked term could hardly refer to anything else, as only trains had a powerful enough engine to pull cars. A "bus" nowadays can only be an [[automobile]]. Likewise, a "car" would be part of a chariot or (later in history) a train. Now the unmarked term refers to an [[automobile]] other than a bus or truck. Only in context of rail travel or elevators would "car" mean anything else. | A vehicle like a bus (short for "omnibus") meant a horse-drawn carriage in the 1860s. The unmarked term could hardly refer to anything else, as only trains had a powerful enough engine to pull cars. A "bus" nowadays can only be an [[automobile]]. Likewise, a "car" would be part of a chariot or (later in history) a train. Now the unmarked term refers to an [[automobile]] other than a bus or truck. Only in context of rail travel or elevators would "car" mean anything else. |