A Clausula vera, or ficta, when accompanied, in the Counterpoint, by a suspended discord, is called a Clausula diminuta, or Diminished Cadence, in allusion to the shortening of the penultimate note, in order to allow time for the suspension and resolution of the dissonance.
1529 August 30, Bishop Stephen Gardiner, letter (1933), 33
At Woodstock, the penultimate of August.
1728, E. Chambers Cyclopædia
Antepenultimate is that before the Penultimate, or the last but two.
1876, Arthur Campbell-Walker, The Correct Card, Glossary page xiii
Penultimate, the. — Beginning with the lowest card but one of the suit you lead originally, if it contains more than four cards.
1962, Minutes of the Adjourned Meeting of 22nd Biennial Convention of the United Lutheran Church in America, XXII.iv
Our Lutheran concern for the ultimates (the Gospel) has allowed us to neglect some of the penultimates (bodily healing), failing to stress the total implications of that ultimate Gospel.
