ubi sunt

American  

[oo-bee soont] / ˈu bi ˈsʊnt /

noun

1. a poetic motif emphasizing the transitory nature of youth, life, and beauty, found especially in Medieval Latin poems.

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Etymology

Origin of ubi sunt

1910–15; < Medieval Latin Ubi sunt ( quī ante nōs fuērunt? ) Where are (those who were before us?)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ubi sunt

Here we have Seidel’s ubi sunt poem, pondering where the titans go when the dawn breaks.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 8, 2016

Zeune would have it mean "illuc, in illum locum ubi sunt Pisidæ;" and Krüger thinks that "towards Sardis" is intended.

From The First Four Books of Xenophon's Anabasis by Watson, John Selby