penultimate

Meaning

Adj

1. (UK, literary, not-comparable) Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.
2. (not-comparable) Of or pertaining to a penult.
3. (not-comparable, rare) Relating to or denoting an element of a related collection of curves that is arbitrarily close to a degenerate form.
4. (not-comparable, proscribed) pre-eminent, ultimate, best; par excellence, top-quality

Noun

1. (uncommon) A penult, a next to last, particularly
2. (obsolete, rare, uncommon) A penult, a next to last
3. (uncommon) A penult, a next to last
4. (obsolete, rare, uncommon) A penult, a next to last
5. (uncommon) A penult, a next to last

Synonyms

next to last

penult

last but one

next-to-last

penultima

Samuel Butler

the last but one

second last

Translations

avant-dernier

pénultième

penúltimo

penultimo

penúltimo

vorletzt

vorletzter

voorlaatste

penúltim

προτελευταίος

παραλήγουσα

avant-dernière

vorletzte

paenultimus

Pronounced as (IPA)

/pɪˈnʌltɪmət/

Etymology

From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.