propenultimate

English

Etymology

From pro- +‎ penultimate

Adjective

propenultimate (not comparable)

  1. (rare) Synonym of antepenultimate: two places before last.
    • 1929, Martin Armstrong, The Sleeping Fury, book 1 Charlotte At Fifty, chapter 1:
      “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?”
    • 1997, Georg Capellanus, Rod McLeod, Latin Can be Fun (Facetiae Latinae): A Modern Conversational Guide (Sermo Hodiernus Antique Redditus):
      In Latin polysyllabic words are stressed on the penultimate syllable if this is long; otherwise on the propenultimate syllable, provided that there is one.
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