Paenultima

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A syllable that precedes the final syllable of a word, specifically the penultimate when referred to in linguistic contexts
2. Denoting the second to last syllable in a word, often important in poetry and meter
3. Referring to the syllable that comes before the last one in a sequence, relevant in phonetics and pronunciation

Etymology: "Paenultima" is the Latin feminine form of "paene ultimus," meaning "almost last," from "paene" ("almost") and "ultimus" ("last," the superlative of "ultra," "beyond"). The Latin noun was "(syllaba) paenultima," the "almost-last (syllable)," and the term was used by Roman grammarians to describe the syllable before the last one, which is why the stress and vowel length of this position mattered so much in Latin prosody. English borrowed the term directly from Latin, and its use in English is largely confined to grammar, phonology and classical scholarship, where it is the standard name for the second-to-last syllable. The English form "penultimate" is the usual adjective and noun in everyday use, and it was formed on the same Latin base.

Synonyms: penultimate syllable, second-to-last syllable