Where does “avant-dernier” come from?
avant-dernier (French) comes from French dernier, from French derrenier, from Old French derrain, from Vulgar Latin deretranus, from Latin dē, from Latin post, from Latin poste, from Proto-Italic posti — afterwards, post; by, at.
avant-dernier (French): penultimate, second-to-last, last but one
Definitions
- penultimate, second-to-last, last but one
Ancestry of “avant-dernier”, step by step
avant-dernier traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French dernier
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | dernier | last; latest; latter |
| 2 | French | derrenier | — |
| 3 | Old French | derrain | final, last; last |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | deretranus | to hinder |
| 5 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 6 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 7 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |
via French avant
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | avant | beforehand; earlier |
| 2 | Latin | ante | before, in front, forwards; before; before,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | κλίσις | bending, inclination; a lying down; a place for... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -σῐς | "suffix forming nouns" |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -τις | retained after dentals |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -tis | Derives abstract/action nouns from verb roots |