Is penultimate a common word?

Is penultimate a common word?

Many people use ‘penultimate’ to mean “the very last” or “the very best.” They’re wrong. But penultimate means “next to last” or “second to last.” It’s probably because it adds an emphatic extra syllable to the word ultimate that people think it somehow means “more” than ultimate—but it really means less.

What is a penultimate lap?

Next to last, second to last; immediately preceding the end of a sequence, list, etc.

What does its the latter mean?

1 : the second one of two things or people that have been mentioned Of these two options, the former is less expensive, while the latter is less risky. 2 : the last thing or person mentioned Of chicken, fish, and meat, I like the latter best.

What is the word for next to the last?

1 : next to the last the penultimate chapter of a book. 2 : of or relating to the next to the last syllable of a word a penultimate accent.

What is the word for third to last?

The word ultimate means “final” or “last”; the word penultimate means “second last”; the word antepenultimate means “third last”; the word preantepenultimate means “fourth last”.

What’s another word for second to last?

What is another word for second last?

Is the latter the first or second?

Former refers to something that is first in the order of two or more things. Latter refers to something that is either second in a group of two things or last in a group of several.

Is the latter correct?

The terms former and latter are words used to distinguish between two things. Former directs us to the first of these two things, and latter directs us to the second (or last) of them. Do not use former or latter when you are writing about more than two things.

Do Americans use penultimate?

Usage notes While the Latinate penultimate is predominant in written works, the traditional English expressions for this idea were last but one and (less often) second last. Following the 1920s, American use has favored next to last to the point that last but one functions as a Britishism.

What is another word for second best?

synonyms for second-best

• rotten.
• shabby.
• shoddy.
• substandard.
• unacceptable.
• unsatisfactory.
• low-grade.
• second-class.

What is the one before Preantepenultimate?

This train of prefixes surely needs uncoupling. Something that is ultimate is the last in a series (from Latin ultimare, come to an end); the penultimate is next to last (pen-, a prefix from Latin paene, almost); the antepenultimate is the one before that (ante-, previous, from Latin “ante”).

Is the latter first or second?

First things first: former and latter are both terms that denote an item’s place in a two-part sequence. Former refers to the first of a set, while latter refers to the second, or last, item.

What is the word for sixth to last?

preantepreantepenultimate – sixth to final. antipreantepreantepenultimate – seventh to final.

What does second best mean?

: next to the best. second best. noun. Definition of second best (Entry 2 of 3) : one that is below or after the best.

What’s another word for second place?

What is another word for second place?