Penult is alinguistics term for the second-to-lastsyllable of a word. It is an abbreviation ofpenultimate, which describes the next-to-last item in a series. The penult follows the antepenult and precedes theultima. For example, the main stress falls on the penult in such English words asbanána, andMississíppi, and just about all words ending in-ic such asmúsic,frántic, andphonétic. Occasionally, "penult" refers to the last word but one of a sentence.
The terms are often used in reference to languages likeLatin andAncient Greek, whose position of thepitch accent orstress of a word falls only on one of the last three syllables, and sometimes in discussingpoeticmeter.
In certain languages, such asWelsh[1] andPolish, stress is always on the penult.[2]
