Difference between ubiquitousness and ubiquity

I recently posted a video on LinkedIn, and in the caption, I used the word ubiquitousness. In one of the comments, someone questioned my usage, suggesting that ubiquity is a better choice.

Except they pretty much mean the same thing.

Ubiquity is definitely the older of the two, by a couple of centuries. Actually, ubiquitous is derived from it. That being said, ubiquitousness is about 150 years old, so while it’s technically newer, I wouldn’t call it new. It’s here to stay.

Merriam-Webster reports that ubiquitous is more popular than ubiquity, which means we may see ubiquitousness becoming the preferred omnipresent noun as time goes on.

By Kim Siever

I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.