penultimate

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   coming immediately before the last in a sequence; second to last

   The pistol fired its penultimate shot before finally falling silent.

2. 2
   noun

   the next-to-last item in a sequence, especially the next-to-last syllable of a word

   In the Latin word amicus, the penultimate is the syllable mi.

Simplified etymology

Penultimate comes from Latin paene “almost” combined with ultimus “last.” It entered English in the late 17th century with the literal sense “almost last,” hence “next to last.”

From Latin paenultimus ("almost last"), formed from paene ("almost") + ultimus ("last"), with the English adjectival ending -ate. Its literal structure is therefore "almost ultimate."

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary