Do you know the meaning of penultimate? This article has everything you need to know about penultimate, from its definition to proper usage and more!
-
Kevin
-
February 11, 2022
-
Common Questions
Your writing, at its best
Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant
While perhaps it may not be the most widely used word in the English language, penultimate is a word that many people misuse on a day-to-day basis. A key role in the confusion is due to penultimate’s striking similarity to the word ultimate. While these two words may seem the same, they are very different.
There are some words that simply do not sound like what they mean. Take, for example, the word formication. It sounds like it could be a sassy word — in reality, formication derives from the Latin word of formīcāre, which means “to crawl like ants.” Penultimate sounds like the more common word ultimate, and that can easily mask its true meaning.
Another reason could be due to how the word penultimate itself adds an extra emphatic syllable to the widely-used word ultimate. In doing so, it can make a person think this could mean “extra” than ultimate; that being said, in reality, it means less.
Learn more about the meaning of this commonly misunderstood word below!
What Does Penultimate Mean?
Quickly stated, penultimate means “next to last” or “second to last.”
Penultimate comes from a Latin word that means “practically ultimate.” You could say that the next-to-last race in a person’s career, the second-to-last day of a much-needed vacation, or the second-to-last episode in a series are all penultimate events or items.
What Is the Origin of Penultimate?
Penultimate is often referred to as “immediately preceding that member of a series which is last, one before last.” It was first used in the 1670s, deriving from the mid-15th Century penultim and the Old French penultime.
Prior to its current use as an adjective, penultimate came from two nouns, penult and penultima.
While all three come from paenultima — the feminine of paenultimus — from Latin paene (“nearly”) and ultimas (“final”), the nouns penult and penultima are a bit more specific. The abbreviation for penultima, penult (pronounced PEE-nult), holds the more specific meaning of “second-to-last syllable of a word.”
Despite the fact that all three can refer to something that’s next to last, they are used most often to identify the next to last syllable of a word.
Penultimate also uses a very uncommon Latin prefix “paene-” which is shortened down here to “pen-.” One of the only commonly used words that use this prefix in today’s English language is peninsula. Peninsula refers to “almost island.” For example, a peninsula is a body of land that is practically surrounded by water but not fully.
Example Sentences Using Penultimate
The word penultimate can be used in a wide variety of ways in the English language. Being able to use these new words in a sentence is an outstanding way to memorize their definition. Below you will find many examples of the usage of the word penultimate:
- The pair placed their fastest time on the penultimate stage of the race and moved into fourth place.
- Looking glamorous and ravishing in a golden fish-tail gown, she walked like a superstar on the penultimate day of the four-day fashion event.
- In Samoan words, all syllables are designated equal timing with a minuscule accent situated on the penultimate syllable.
- She only encountered a problem on the penultimate stage of the race when her engine seized.
- I was shocked after reading the novel’s penultimate chapter last Wednesday.
- We have three all-time champs competing up to the penultimate round.
- We knew the penultimate step would be a difficult one, but we made it anyway.
- Be sure to really take note of that penultimate stop on the driving instructions I gave you.
- Although being the penultimate back at the start of June, I have been gaining popularity and am now number one.
- Despite your horse slipping at the penultimate fence, you still did a pretty great job!
- Billy is technically the penultimate offspring of the bunch.
- We live at the random house — it’s the penultimate one at the end of the block.
What Are Synonyms and Antonyms of Penultimate?
When a word or phrase has a similar or identical meaning to the original word, these are referred to as synonyms. Alternatively, when a word or phrase has the opposite meaning of the original word, they are referred to as antonyms.
Having knowledge of these synonyms and antonyms can help you get a better hold of the English language and help to broaden your vocabulary of the English language. Feel free to quiz yourself with this word of the day as a fun way to learn new terminology.
There are a few words or phrases you can use in lieu of the word penultimate. Below, you will find a list of synonyms:
- Second Last
- Second From Last
- One Before the Last
- Second to Last
- Last but One
- Next to Last
- Penultima
- Penult
Beyond that, synonyms and antonyms can and will not only enrich your knowledge of the English language overall; they will also help you to keep from repeating yourself in everyday conversations. Inevitably, since penultimate typically refers to the second from last, there are no true antonyms for the word. In spite of this, you could, in a general way, use second as an antonym for the adjective penultimate.
On another note, the closely related word antepenultimate (pronounced an-tih-pih-NUL-tuh-mut) holds the meaning of third from the end.
In Conclusion
If you’re binging your favorite series online or sitting back on the couch watching your favorite TV show, when you get to the penultimate episode, for better or worse, there is only one episode left to go.
So now, if you hear someone say, “Hey, that steak was the penultimate!” or “Oh my! Our grandparents are the penultimate gift-givers,” you know why they’re using that word wrong. While it may sound as if you are defining them as something terrific, brilliant, or downright sensational, penultimate ultimately means second to last.
Sources:
