penult
One before final
The penult is the second-to-last item in a series—most often the second-to-last syllable of a word.
In *banana*, the penult is *nan*.
The word appears mainly in linguistics and poetry, where syllable stress matters: The accent falls on the penult.
Pressure, mental or vocal
- accentRegional speech pattern
- emphasisStress given to something
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- meterDevice that measures usage
rhythm · cadence · beat · scansion · thesis · foot · trochee · iamb
Position before final
- next-to-lastImmediately preceding the final
- runner-upCompetition's silver finisher
- ultimaWord's concluding syllable
- finalLast and decisive
last · preceding · sequential · ordinal
Unit of pronunciation
- vowelUnobstructed speech sound
- phonemeMinimal distinctive sound unit
- schwaNeutral unstressed vowel
- elisionDropped sounds in speech
syncope · reduction · unstressed · pronunciation · articulation · phonetics · morpheme · segment
stress
Pressure, mental or vocal
- accentRegional speech pattern
- emphasisStress given to something
- intonationPitch variation in speech
meter · rhythm · cadence · beat · scansion · thesis · foot · trochee · iamb · dactyl
second-to-last
Position before final
- next-to-lastImmediately preceding the final
- runner-upCompetition's silver finisher
- ultimaWord's concluding syllable
final · last · preceding · sequential · ordinal
syllable
Unit of pronunciation
elision · syncope · reduction · unstressed · pronunciation · articulation · phonetics · morpheme · segment · nucleus
verse
Metered poetic passage