A penult is a linguistics term for the second to last syllable of a word. It is an abbreviation of penultimate, which means the next to the last item in a series. The most common use of the word is in linguistics, where the word "penult" usually means The penult follows the antepenult and precedes the ultima. For example, the main stress falls on the penult in such English words as banána, and Mississíppi. Occasionally, "penult" refers to the last word but one of a sentence.