Added 9 October 2026
penultimate
/pɪˈnʌl.tɪ.mɪt/ adjective
In Latin: paenultimus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about penultimate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
- Of or pertaining to a penult.
- Relating to or denoting an element of a related collection of curves that is arbitrarily close to a degenerate form.
noun
- A penult, a next to last, particularly: The penultimate day of a month. The penultimate syllable of a word or metrical line. The penultimate element of a collection of curves. The penultimate (next to lowest) card in a suit.
- The penultimate day of a month.
- The penultimate syllable of a word or metrical line.
Origin
From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)