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I just heard this word for the first time; it’s defined in the dictionary as

the condition or fact of being in, or occupying, a certain place or position; location; whereness; ubiety.

How is this used in a sentence? Are there any nuances? When would it commonly be used?

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    I'd argue it's not commonly used. This Google Ngram seems to indicate that this was not always the case.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 13:12
  • That definition sounds to me like the Spanish: ubicación, verb: ubicar. I would imagine it was one of the 19th century Latinate creations (or was it 18th century - a time when hundreds of Latin root words were being coined left and right). I could be wrong. I have never heard it in English.
    – Lambie
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 15:39
  • @Lambie It seems to be used by writers familiar with the Spanish and Portuguese use of the word, at least today. See also the citations for ubicated to mean situated, located, placed. The citations from 150 years ago when these words were more common are not always so clearly ones written by hispanophones or lusophones as most of today’s appear to be. I’ve caught myself using ubicated in English before, but I think that’s mental crosstalk, as I am not uncontaminated of Iberian tongues.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 16:05
  • @tchrist I guess you mean Spanish and Portuguese speakers attempting to write in English? The crap I see as a translator is not to be believed. And this "sounds" like that. I daren't even google the English spelling as it might give me negative frissons, which I am trying to avoid. Cheers.
    – Lambie
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 16:21
  • Please cite which dictionary you are citing. Almost all dictionary give example usages. Definitions are built on usages.
    – Arm the good guys in America
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 18:41

3 Answers 3

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It is a dated term of Latin origin. Location is the more common expression:

Etymology:

  • An adaptation of the New Latin ubicātiō (whence the Spanish ubicación and the Portuguese ubicação), from the assumed *ubicō (whence the Spanish ubicar), from the Classical Latin ubi ‎(“where”).

The following examples show the term usage:

  • 1866, T.N. Harper, Peace through Truth, Ser. i., 212:

    • The terminus ad quem is already existing, and merely receives a new ubication.

  • 1952, Applied Mechanics Reviews, page 103/2:

    • The ubication of such a joint should be obtained as the point of intersection of the three planes normal to the directions of the lines joining the joint considered with the other three.

(Wiktionary)

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  • Sometimes I think it means “placing” or “placement”. See also my comment above.
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 16:12
  • @tchrist - yes, and the term is also common in Italian "ubicare/ubicazione".
    – user66974
    Commented Feb 11, 2017 at 17:39
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It is not commonly used in standard modern English. However, the "ubi-" component persists in "ubiquitous", which is still widely used.

http://www.ubiquitouschip.co.uk/

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    This answer would be improved if, instead of a link to a random website which just happens to use the word ubiquitous, you had included a quote from a dictionary showing how the ubi- prefix in ubiquitous is related. The community has been known to treat links to outside websites like this as spam. (I don't believe this is deliberate spam, and hopefully this comment will dissuade it being flagged; but you can avoid flags by keeping content absolutely on-topic and demonstrably relevant)
    – Andrew Leach ♦
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 10:22
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It would not commonly be used but based on the definition you gave I have used it in a sentence.

Mr Trumps ubication is the holder of the title President of the United states of America yet he has shown no evidence of possessing the qualities or character that one would presume to be necessary for such a high office.

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  • @glorfindel thanks. How do you perform the formatting that puts text within a shaded field?
    – Alaska Man
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 13:20
  • You can always click the edit link to see the 'source code' of the post (even if it's not your own post).
    – Glorfindel
    Commented Mar 3, 2017 at 13:21

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