penultimate

/peˈnʌltəmət/peh-NUHL-tuh-muht

/pɛˈnʌltəmət/peh-NUHL-tuh-muht

Meaningalmost the last

Common meaning: second to last

penalmostLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1289 · scan
ultimbeyond; farthestLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1926 · scan
ateverb or adjective ending: to make, having

‘almost’ + ‘beyond’ → penultimate

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

pen — Latin paene “almost” (dictionary form; path not traced)
ultim — Latin ultrā; ultimus “beyond; farthest” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin paene ‘almost’ + Latin ultrā; ultimus ‘beyond; farthest’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry ultrā, p. 1926 · dictionary scan; Skeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), entry OUTRAGE, p. 409 · dictionary scan

Roots

paene Latin “almost”
ultrā; ultimus Latin “beyond; farthest”

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