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ubique

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word ubique

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kʷu-dʰi)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin ubi
French où
Latin ubique

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ʊˈbiː.kʷɛ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [uˈbiː.kʷe][1]

Forms

ubīque (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ubī (“where”) + -que (“-ever, each”), with the generalising -que of quisque (“each”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ubī to Proto-Italic *kʷuþei and Proto-Indo-European *kʷu-dʰi (“where”) (or ⟨*kʷu-bʰi⟩), cognate with Oscan puf (“where”), Sanskrit कुह (kúha, “where”) and Old Church Slavonic къде (kŭde, “where”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus, Bacchides: quīcumque ubīque sunt, “all who are anywhere”.[4]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense, mostly after a relative or indefinite, is “in any place whatever, anywhere”: Cicero appeals to all Roman citizens, those present and those anywhere.[2][4] From this it came to mean “everywhere”, as Caesar's soldiers, scorched by flames on all sides, did not leave the rampart;[2] Ulpian uses it for “in all circumstances”.[2] Caesar may once use it as a conjunction, “wherever”, though the reading is doubtful.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “wherever, everywhere, in all places”.[5] Modern Latin ubīquitārius, formed from it, gave English ubiquitary (about 1600); English ubiquitous (1800) belongs to the same family.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: “anywhere”.[4][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: “anywhere”.[2][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar: “everywhere”.[2][7]
  • 1800 – English ubiquitous, from the derived noun.[6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. In any place whatever, anywhere.[2][4]
  2. everywhere, in every place; in all circumstances.[2][1][5]

Word family

  • perubique

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Ubique.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/ubique. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·