penultimate (adj) - next to last or second to last in a series [pi-nuhl-tuh-mit]
BREAKDOWN: PEN- (almost) + ULTIM- (last) + -ATE (state of)
a penult is the next to the last syllable in a word
ultimate means the last or final; furthest or farthest; highest; maximum
“Mythology is not a lie. Mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has been well said that mythology is the penultimate truth — penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words, beyond images.” —Joseph Campbell