penult
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of penult
1530–40; < Latin paenultima ( syllaba ), contraction of paene ultima almost the last; see pen-, ultima
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Occasionally, an Indian name came to his lips, hesitant syllables cascaded to a tenebrous penult: Rabindranath Tagore.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Hurrah!" announced Harry gleefully, as he pushed a piece of rock forward, opening a space wide enough to penult him to thrust an arm through.
From Boy Scouts Mysterious Signal or Perils of the Black Bear Patrol by Ralphson, G. Harvey (George Harvey)
The sentiment expressed in the penult couplet is not uncommon, the idea of retributive justice, of others performing the last offices for the clerk who had so often done the like for his neighbours.
From The Parish Clerk by Ditchfield, P. H. (Peter Hampson)
Names on which accents are not placed are accented on the penult.
From Creation Myths of Primitive America In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind by Curtin, Jeremiah
In such words the accent stands upon the penult, even though that be short.
From New Latin Grammar by Bennett, Charles E. (Charles Edwin)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
