penultimate
1
7.5
The next to last syllable in a word
- noun
- /pəˈnʌltɪmət/
- Specialized
:
penúltima
- When analyzing phonetics, identifying the penultimate syllable can help with stress patterns.
- penultimate rather than ultimate
Examples
-
So welcome to the next to last penultimate lecture in our Smart close lecture series.
-
My penultimate thank you goes to the staff of the Print Shop for the insider's tour of their facilities and tutorials in production.
Academic text (2009) -
In the word 'banana', the penultimate syllable is 'na'.
-
In the sequence of chapters, the penultimate one sets up the climax of the story.
Synonyms
next-to-last
vspenultimate
4
5.1
The one before the last in a series
is restricted to syllables in words and used in linguistic study
9.9
The second-to-last part of a word that you say, for example the 'na' in banana
is the term used more in linguistic analysis than casual speech
9.9
The syllable before the last one in a word
is the same concept but phrased as a counting description in linguistics
Surface Forms
penultimate singular
penultimates plural
Etymology
The word penultimate comes from the Latin words paene ('almost') and ultimus ('last'). So, when we talk about syllables, the penultimate is the 'almost last' syllable, the one before the final syllable.