adjective
also penult
Etymology: penultimate from pene- + ultimate; penult from Latin paenultimus, penultimus, from paene-, pene- pene- + ultimus last — more at ultimate
1. : next to the last
the penultimate chapter of a book
the penultimate phase of a war
2. : of or relating to a penult
a penultimate accent
• pe·nul·ti·mate·ly adverb