# penultimate

Pronunciation: US say "puh-NUL-tuh-muht" /pəˈnəltəmət/; UK/AUS say "pi-NUL-ti-muht" /pɪˈnʌltɪmət/

## Adjective

1. Next to last; coming immediately before the final item in a sequence, such as the next-to-last syllable of a word.
   - Simple: Second from the end, just before the last one.
   - _The penultimate chapter sets up the surprise ending._
   - _She was eliminated in the penultimate round of the competition._
3. Pre-eminent or best of all; the finest, top-quality example of its kind. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: The very best or greatest of its kind.
   - _"Honestly, this is the penultimate burger in the whole city," the food blogger gushed._
   - _The ad promised guests the penultimate luxury getaway, complete with a private chef._

## Noun

2. The next-to-last item in a series, especially the next-to-last syllable of a word or line of verse or, formerly, the next-to-last day of a month.
   - Simple: The item just before the last one, especially a syllable, and long ago also the day before a month's last day.
   - _The penultimate of the nine lectures covers grammar, and the last one is a review._
   - _Of the ten presentations, the penultimate was about public health and drew the most questions._

## Noun

4. In card games, the card next to the lowest in a suit. *(rare)*
   - Simple: In card games, the second-lowest card of one suit.

## Adjective

5. Describing a member of a related family of curves that is arbitrarily close to the family's degenerate form. *(rare)*
   - Simple: In math, describing a curve in a family of curves that has almost collapsed into a simpler shape.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3, 5** — From Latin paenultimus, built from paene, “almost,” + ultimus, “last,” with the adjective suffix -ate; in effect pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.
**Meanings 2, 4** — The noun comes from the adjective penultimate, used as a noun, with -ate here forming a noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/penultimate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).