1579, from M.Fr.
ubiquité (17c.), from L.
ubique "everywhere," from
ubi "where" (see
ubi) +
que "any, also, ever," a suffix that can give universal meaning to the word it is attached to. Originally a Lutheran theological position maintaining the omnipresence of Christ.
Ubiquitous in the sense of "turning up everywhere" is first recorded 1837, originally a jocular extension of the theological word.