antepenultimate

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English

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English numbers (edit)
 ←  2 3 4  → 
    Cardinal: three
    Ordinal: third
    Latinate ordinal: tertiary
    Reverse order ordinal: third to last, third from last, last but two
    Latinate reverse order ordinal: antepenultimate
    Adverbial: three times, thrice
    Multiplier: threefold
    Latinate multiplier: triple
    Distributive: triply
    Germanic collective: trio, threesome
    Collective of n parts: triplet
    Greek or Latinate collective: triad
    Greek collective prefix: tri-
    Latinate collective prefix: tri-
    Fractional: third
    Latinate fractional prefix: trient-
    Elemental: triplet
    Greek prefix: trito-
    Number of musicians: trio, triplet
    Number of years: triennium

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From ante- +‎ penultimate, modelled on[1] Latin antepaenultima/antepēnultima (syllaba) (last syllable but two in a word), from the feminine of antepaenultimus/antepēnultimus (antepenultimate).[2]

Adjective

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antepenultimate (not comparable)

  1. Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series.
    This book has ten chapters — chapter 8 is the antepenultimate one.
    • 1677, Robert Plot, “Of the Heavens and Air”, in The natural history of Oxford-shire: Being an Essay Toward the Natural History of England[2], page 15:
      [] they [the sounds of an echo] next strike the ultimate secondary object, then the penultimate and antepenultimate; []

Synonyms

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Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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antepenultimate (plural antepenultimates)

  1. The third before the last in a series. e.g. (..., antepenultimate, penultimate, ultimate)
  2. The syllable that comes two before the last in a word.
    Synonym: antepenult
    The words animal, citizen, comedy, dangerous, obvious, and antepenultimate are stressed on the antepenultimate.
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Translations

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References

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  1. ^ antepenultimate, adj. and n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required[1], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 2016, archived from the original on 2023-11-04.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “antepenultimate (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.