penult

American  

[pee-nuhlt, pi-nuhlt] / ˈpi nʌlt, pɪˈnʌlt /

Also penultima

noun

1. the next to the last syllable in a word.

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penult British  

/ pɪˈnʌlt, pɪˈnʌltɪmə, ˈpɛnʌlt /

noun

1. the last syllable but one in a word

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Etymology

Origin of penult

1530–40; < Latin paenultima ( syllaba ), contraction of paene ultima almost the last; see pen-, ultima

Example Sentences

Occasionally, an Indian name came to his lips, hesitant syllables cascaded to a tenebrous penult: Rabindranath Tagore.

From Time Magazine Archive

In such words the accent stands upon the penult, even though that be short.

From New Latin Grammar by Bennett, Charles E. (Charles Edwin)

In Old Welsh and Old Breton, on the other hand, the final syllable, i.e. the primitive penult, received the stress, but in both languages the stress was shifted in the middle period to the penultimate.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various

Some Verbs suffer a syncope in the penult syllable, and are commonly used in their contracted form; as, Imper.

From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Stewart, Alexander

The accent must fall on the penult, if it was long, otherwise on the antepenult of the word.

From The Common People of Ancient Rome Studies of Roman Life and Literature by Abbott, Frank Frost