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ultimátum

ultimatum

noun ool-tee-MAH-toom Rare
Communication Speech

Origin: From Latin ultimatum, neuter of ultimatus (final).

Usage Note

Ultimátum keeps its written accent in the singular to mark stress on the antepenultimate syllable — without it, stress rules would place it on -tum. The Real Academia accepts ultimato as an alternative but ultimátum is overwhelmingly preferred in print. The plural is ultimátums (not ultimata, which is Latin and rarely used in Spanish). It is a diplomatic and journalistic register word.

Examples

"El gobierno recibió un ultimátum del sindicato."

Natural Translation

The government received an ultimatum from the union.

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