penultimate
adj.the one that comes right before the very last one in a series. If you are reading a book with ten chapters, chapter nine is the penultimate one.
adj.immediately preceding the final item in a series or sequence. Often used in literary or academic contexts to describe chapters, syllables, or stages in a process.
“The penultimate chapter of the book is the most exciting.”
“We are currently in the penultimate week of the semester, so everyone is busy preparing for final exams.”
“The protagonist's sudden realization in the penultimate scene provides the necessary emotional weight for the story's tragic conclusion, ensuring the finale feels earned rather than forced.”
Typically used attributively before a noun. While it can function as a noun in linguistics to refer to a syllable, the adjective sense is significantly more common in general English.
Penultimate already means 'next to last', so adding 'last' is redundant.
“In the penultimate scene Fred orders a Cuba libre, so perhaps there’s hope?”
“Athletics: European Championships, 10am, BBC One The penultimate day sees Georgia Hunter Bell and Laura Muir in the 1500m heats from the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham.”
Etymology tree Latin paene Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Italic *-tm̥mos Proto-Italic *oltm̥mos Latin ultimus Latin paenultimus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātuslbor. English -ate English penultimate From Latin paenultimus (“penultimate”) + -ate (adjective-forming suffix), from paene (“almost”) + ultimus (“last”). Equivalent to pene- + ultimate. Compare French pénultième.
From a substantivation of the above adjective. Equivalent to Latin paenultimus + -ate (noun-forming suffix).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.