penult
noun
pe·nult ˈpē-ˌnəlt 
pi-ˈnəlt
pi-ˈnəlt : the next to the last member of a series
especially : the second to last syllable of a word : penultima
Sam must have known Sophia Peabody Hawthorne. (Peabody. Was the accent on the first syllable or should you come down hard on the penult, too? … ) 
Jane Langton
Jane Langton 
Word History
Etymology
Latin paenultima penult, from feminine of paenultimus almost last, from paene almost + ultimus last — more at ultimate
First Known Use
1537, in the meaning defined above