What is "antepenultimate"

Antepenultimate \An`te*pe*nult"i*mate\, a. Of or pertaining to the last syllable but two. -- n. The antepenult.

"the last but two," 1730, from antepenult (n.), 1610s, abbreviation of Latin antepaenultima (syllaba), fem. of antepaenultimus, from ante "before" (see ante) + paenultima, from paen "almost" + ultima "last" (see ultimate).

a. Two before the last, i.e., the one immediately before the penultimate, in a series. n. 1 Two before the last in a series. e.g. (..., antepenultimate, penultimate, ultimate) 2 The syllable that comes two before the last in a word.

1. adj. third from last

2. n. the 3rd syllable of a word counting back from the end [syn: antepenult]