Meanings
- not comparablerareSynonym of antepenultimate: two places before last.
In Latin polysyllabic words are stressed on the penultimate syllable if this is long; otherwise on the propenultimate syllable, provided that there is one.
1997, Georg Capellanus, Rod McLeod, Latin Can be Fun (Facetiae Latinae): A Modern Conversational Guide (Sermo Hodiernus Antique Redditus)1 more example
“Halnaker is the family name?” “Yes. Spelt H-a-l-n-a-k-e-r and pronounced Hannaker, with the accent on the Hann—the pro-penultimate, as we were taught to call it at school. The propenultimate, if you please. What unmitigated nonsense! Why not the last-but-two?”
1929, Martin Armstrong, The Sleeping Fury, book 1 Charlotte At Fifty, chapter 1Synonyms: antepenultimate
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSynonym of antepenultimate: two places before last.
Origin
Cite this entry
propenultimate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/propenultimate
“propenultimate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/propenultimate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “propenultimate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/propenultimate.
Source: propenultimate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.