omnipresent

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin omnipraesēns (“present everywhere”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} spelled omnipresens in the OED, which finds it in scholastic use from 1344, in Bradwardine.^[7] The Latin word is formed from omni- (“all”), from omnis (“all, every”), and praesēns (“present”),^[7][2][4][8] the present participle of praesum.^[8] Johnson derived it from the Latin words for "all" and "present".^[9] The noun omnipresence is recorded slightly later, from 1601.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Present in all places at the same time, chiefly of God: 1595, in William Perkins's Exposition of the Creed.^[7][3] Etymonline gives about 1600, and the Shorter Oxford the early 17th century.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word belonged first to theology, as an attribute of God,^[7][6] named beside omnipotent in a quotation the Shorter Oxford gives.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as "ubiquitary; present in every place", quoting Prior's line "Omniscient master, omnipresent king".^[9] From the early 18th century it was also used loosely, by hyperbole, of things widely or constantly met with;^[6] the OED includes this sense in its single definition.^[7]

Timeline

• 1595 – present everywhere at once, chiefly of God.^[7][3] Etymonline dates it to about 1600.^[2]
• 1601 – the noun omnipresence.^[7]
• early 18th century – widely or constantly met with, by hyperbole.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Present in all places at the same time, especially of God or a deity: an omnipresent and all-knowing God.^[10][3][7]
2. Found everywhere or constantly encountered; widespread: the omnipresent hum of traffic.^[3][7][6]

Word family

• omnipresence

Related words

• omnipotent
• omniscient
• omni-
• present

Usage notes

Dictionary.com distinguishes it from ubiquitous: omnipresent suggests in a lofty way a power, usually divine, of being everywhere at once, while ubiquitous is used of what seems to turn up in all sorts of places, often humorously or when it is unwelcome.^[11] Collins gives ubiquitous and pervasive as synonyms.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House