How Do You Spell PENULTIMATE?

Pronunciation: [pɛnˈʌltɪmət] (IPA)

The word "penultimate" is often misspelled due to its unusual spelling. It is pronounced /pɪˈnʌltəmət/ (pi-nuhl-tuh-mit) and means "second to last". The prefix "pen-" comes from the Latin word "paene" which means "almost, nearly". The word "ultimate" comes from the Latin word "ultimus," meaning "last". Therefore, "penultimate" is used when referring to the second-to-last item in a series. Remembering the etymology of the word and practicing its unique spelling will help prevent misspellings of "penultimate".

PENULTIMATE Meaning and Definition

1. Penultimate is an adjective that is used to describe something as being the second-to-last in a series or sequence. The term is derived from the Latin word "paenultimus," which means "almost last." In the context of a series, penultimate denotes the item that immediately precedes the last one.

   When used in reference to time, penultimate indicates that an event or occurrence is the one just before the final one. For example, if a person says, "Today is my penultimate day of vacation," it means that the following day will be their last day of vacation.

   The term can also be applied to describe a certain level of intensity or significance in a series or hierarchy. In this case, penultimate suggests that something is the second-to-highest in importance or quality. For instance, a performance or achievement may be referred to as penultimate to indicate that it is just before the ultimate or greatest one.

   Overall, penultimate is a descriptive word that highlights the distinct position of something as being the second-to-last in a series, sequence, hierarchy, or chronology. Its usage assists in clarifying the order, significance, or progression of different elements within a given context.

2. • The last syllable of a word except one.

   • Denoting the last syllable but one of a word.

   Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.

Top Common Misspellings for PENULTIMATE *

• penulitmate 33.3333333%
• penulatimate 33.3333333%

* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.

Other Common Misspellings for PENULTIMATE

• pentultimate
• penulimate
• penultamate
• penaltimate
• punultimate
• oenultimate
• lenultimate
• -enultimate
• 0enultimate
• pwnultimate
• psnultimate
• pdnultimate
• prnultimate
• penultimat
• pennultimate
• penultimite
• penultimete
• penutimete
• Penultamite

Etymology of PENULTIMATE

The word penultimate originated from the Latin term paenultimus. In Latin, paene means almost, and ultimus translates to last. The combination of these words gave rise to paenultimus, which was used to describe the second-to-last syllable in a word. Over time, this Latin term was adopted into the English language, evolving into penultimate, with a similar meaning of second-to-last or almost ultimate.

Similar spelling word for PENULTIMATE

• penultima.

Plural form of PENULTIMATE is PENULTIMATES