I always thought a caravan was a line of camels trudging up and down over
sand dunes. :)
Bill

----------
> From: David-M <dmc@CYBURBAN.COM>
> To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Bus vs Van
> Date: Saturday, November 21, 1998 6:51 AM
>
> Bob Norman wrote:
> >
> > David-M wrote:
> >
> > > Bus is actually a contraction of omnibus, and van is a contraction of
> > > caravan.
> > > In Britain they call luxury buses 'coaches'.
> > > Actually, if you give your ??? a name, you can avoid the whole thing
and
> > > just say 'lets go in Delilah' or whatever.
> >
> > I thought that a Caravan was a trailer, ie: a non-motorized camper that
> > you tow behind your automobile.  What would you call a motor home? Do
> > you have those big ol' things? I was in England for a couple of months
> > during the summer of '92 and don't recall seeing one.
> >
> Yes, you are right about the current meaning of 'caravan' in Britain,
> but the origin of the word 'van' is still caravan.
> I don't think they have big motor homes there. Where would you go in one
> and where would you park it?
> I know they used to call the station wagons with the wood ('woody'
> here), a 'shooting brake'. I think it was because they were used to
> transport hunting parties.
> Camping is not that popular in Britain due to the lousy weather.