Penult

Penult

In linguistics, the penult is the penultimate syllable of a word; that is, the second-to-last syllable. For example, the main stress falls on the penult in such English words as "banána", and "Mississíppi". The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the ultimate syllable. These terms are used in the study of languages in which the lexical stress of a word changes considerably depending on the case or declension of the word ("e.g." Ancient Greek), and sometimes it is used in the discussion of lexical stress of poetry.

ee also

* Antepenult
* Stress (linguistics)


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  • Penult — Pe nult, n. [Abbreviated fr. penultima.] (Gram. & Pros.) The last syllable but one of a word; the syllable preceding the final one. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • penult — 1530s (adj.), 1570s (n.), abbreviation of penultimate (q.v.) …   Etymology dictionary

  • penult — [pē nul′ti mə, pinul′ti məpē′nult΄, pi nult′] n. [L paenultima < paene, almost (see PASSION) + ultima, fem. of ultimus, last: see ULTIMATE] the one next to the last; specif., the next to the last syllable in a word: also penultima [pē nul′ti… …   English World dictionary

  • penult — noun Etymology: Latin paenultima penult, from feminine of paenultimus almost last, from paene almost + ultimus last more at ultimate Date: 1537 the next to the last member of a series; especially the next to the last syllable of a word …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • penult — См. penùltima …   Пятиязычный словарь лингвистических терминов

  • penult — /pee nult, pi nult /, n. the next to the last syllable in a word. Also, penultima /pi nul teuh meuh/. [1530 40; < L paenultima (syllaba), contr. of paene ultima almost the last; see PEN , ULTIMA] * * * …   Universalium

  • penult — noun /ˈpinɐlt/ a) The next to last syllable of a word. b) The next to the last in a series …   Wiktionary

  • penult — pe·nult || pɪːnÊŒlt /pɪ nÊŒlt adj. second to last, last but one n. second to last syllable; last but one …   English contemporary dictionary

  • penult — [pɪ nʌlt, pɛnʌlt] noun Linguistics the penultimate syllable of a word. adjective archaic term for penultimate …   English new terms dictionary

  • penult — (L). Next to the last …   Dictionary of word roots and combining forms

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