# buss

> English word · Noun · IPA /bʌs/ · frequency rank #35,640

## Definitions
1. A kiss.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-but)
- **buy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-buy)
- **busy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-busy)
- **butt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-butt)
- **buzz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-buzz)
- **bust** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-bust)
- **buys** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-buys)
- **bute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-bute)
- **butts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-butts)
- **busts** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-busts)
- **busty** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-busty)
- **busta** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-busta)
- **busses** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/buss-vs-busses)
- **BS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bs-vs-buss)
- **bus** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bus-vs-buss)
- **bug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bug-vs-buss)
- **bud** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bud-vs-buss)
- **bum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bum-vs-buss)
- **bun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bun-vs-buss)
- **bis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bis-vs-buss)

## Common misspellings (3)
`bbuss`, `bsus`, `ubss`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/buss