penultimate - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: penultimate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

pe·nul·ti·mate

Audio Help [pi-nuhl-tuh-mit] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	next to the last: the penultimate scene of the play.

2.	of or pertaining to a penult.

–noun

a penult.

[Origin: 1670–80; see penult, ultimate

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
penultimate

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

pe·nul·ti·mate Audio Help (pĭ-nŭl'tə-mĭt) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Next to last.
Linguistics Of or relating to the penult of a word: penultimate stress.

n. The next to the last.

[From Latin paenultimus; see penult.]

pe·nul'ti·mate·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
penultimate (adj.)

1677, from earlier penultima (n.) "the next to the last syllable of a word or verse," from fem. of L. adj. penultimus "next-to-last," from pæne "almost" + ultimus "final."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

penultimate
adjective
1.	next to the last; "the author inadvertently reveals the murderer in the penultimate chapter"; "the figures in the next-to-last column"
noun
1.	the next to last syllable in a word [syn: penult]