Penultimate

[sgtrecon212]

Penultimate. A word seldom used and usually misused. I know what it means but I have a question.
If penultimate means roughly "second to last" and you have only two of something, for example a concert series with two performances; is the first concert also the penultimate?

I can't see me ever using the word, but just wondering.

[brothers]

True. In that case,the original is also the greatest!

[Kyle76]

I would never use the word to describe the next to last of a series of just two or three things. It might technically be correct, but it would be silly, IMO.

[CMur12]

This word appears to be used more in Romance languages than it is in English. At least, that's my impression.

I would follow Jim's example of defining "penultimate" as "next to the last." As such, if we're talking about two items, which we would normally refer to as "first" and "last," the first would by definition also be the penultimate. As Jim noted, it would be rare to see the word used in such a case.

- Murray

[sgtrecon212]

Yeah, it's not a commonly used word, I was just kinda goofing around the other day and wondered. The subject came up in conversation when a man I work with used "decimate" to describe a complete wipe out of his parts stock. He, being a good friend, and me, being a smart ass.. I had to let him know he was using the word incorrectly.

[jthomas1264]

If you really want to get wordy (or nerdy) a professor in our English department once mentioned that we were in the antepenultimate faculty meeting of the year. That's a word that you probably won't hear even if it is the antepenultimate game of the football season. Even spellcheck doesn't like it.

jt

[CMur12]

If you really want to get wordy (or nerdy) a professor in our English department once mentioned that we were in the antepenultimate faculty meeting of the year. That's a word that you probably won't hear even if it is the antepenultimate game of the football season. Even spellcheck doesn't like it. jt

I'm familiar with this word, but I can't say I have ever actually used it.

A lot of people mix up their ante- prefix with anti- . (One might note that the difference in meaning is significant.)

- Murray

[J T]

Used by 'British' Motorsport TV commentators on a regular basis.

[brothers]

Penultimate can refer to a word's next to last syllable, called a penult.