A
penult is a linguistics term for the second to last
syllable of a word. It is an abbreviation of
penultimate, which means the next to the last item in a series. The most common use of the word is in
linguistics, where the word "penult" usually means The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the
ultima. For example, the main stress falls on the penult in such English words as
banána, and
Mississíppi. Occasionally, "penult" refers to the last word but one of a sentence.