pe·nult \ˈpēˌnəlt\noun alsope·nul·ti·mate\pə̇ˈnəltəmə̇t\; orpe·nul·ti·ma\-mə\ (-s) Etymology:penult from penult, adjective; penultimate from penultimate, adjective; penultima from Latin paenultima penult, from feminine of paenultimus, penultimus : the next to the last member of a series; especially: the next to the last syllable of a word