antepenult

English

Etymology

Either formed from ante- +‎ penult and modelled on Latin or a shortening of Latin antepaenultima/antepēnultima (syllaba).[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌantɪpɪˈnʌlt/, /ˌantɪpɛˈnʌlt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌantiˈpiˌnʌlt/, /ˌantɪˈpiˌnʌlt/, /ˌantɪpɛˈnʌlt/
  • Rhymes: -ʌlt, -iːnʌlt

Noun

antepenult (plural antepenults)

  1. The third-to-last syllable of a word.
    Synonym: antepenultimate
    • 1985, Robert Burchfield, The English Language, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 110:
      This elementary instruction is language at its most advanced to minds trained on the accentuation of the antepenult (multiplicity) and on Sievers-type C2 half-line metrical patterns[.]

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ antepenult, adj. and n.”, in OED Online [1], Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016, archived from the original on 4 November 2023.
  2. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “antepenult (n.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  3. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “antepenultimate (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.