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antepenultimate

adj, noun — 3 senses

antepenultimate

adj

/ˌæntɪpɪnˈʌltɪmət/ · /ˌæntɪpənˈʌltɪmət/

Etymology From ante- + penultimate, modelled on Latin antepaenultima/antepēnultima (syllaba) (“last syllable but two in a word”), from the feminine of antepaenultimus/antepēnultimus (“antepenultimate”).

1

Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series.

  • This book has ten chapters — chapter 8 is the antepenultimate one.
  • […] they [the sounds of an echo] next strike the ultimate secondary object, then the penultimate and antepenultimate; […]1677, Robert Plot, “Of the Heavens and Air”, in The natural history of Oxford-shire: Being an Essay Toward the Natural History of England, page 15:
Synonyms
peripenultimate, prepenultimate, propenultimate, third last, third to last, triultimate
Derived terms
antepenultimately
Coordinate terms
ultimate, penultimate, preantepenultimate, propreantepenultimate

antepenultimate

noun

Etymology From ante- + penultimate, modelled on Latin antepaenultima/antepēnultima (syllaba) (“last syllable but two in a word”), from the feminine of antepaenultimus/antepēnultimus (“antepenultimate”).

1

The second before the last in a series; the item preceding the penultimate and ultimate.

2

Human sciences, Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Sciences The syllable that comes two before the last in a word.

  • The words animal, citizen, comedy, and antepenultimate are stressed on the antepenultimate.
Related terms
penultimate, preantepenultimate, propreantepenultimate, ultimate

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.