Ultimatum

How to spell ultimatum

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce ultimatum

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does ultimatum mean?

1. nounA final demand or set of terms, the rejection of which brings serious consequences such as ending negotiations, employment, or a relationship.

Ultimatum in a sentence

• The union issued an ultimatum demanding a pay rise by Friday or it would strike.

• Her landlord delivered an ultimatum to pay the arrears within seven days.

Where does ultimatum come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes directly from the Latin ultimatum, the neuter form of ultimatus, meaning 'come to an end' or 'final'. That in turn rests on the adjective ultimus, which literally meant 'last' or 'farthest', the superlative of the old root signifying 'beyond' or 'far off'. English adopted it in the eighteenth century as a diplomatic term, the very last and non-negotiable set of conditions one state laid before another before breaking off talks or going to war. From that formal political use it broadened into the everyday sense of any final demand backed by a threat. The same ultimus root gives us 'ultimate' and 'penultimate' (literally 'almost last'), and the Latin neuter -atum ending is exactly why the word keeps its unusual -um tail rather than a plain English -e.

How the word is built

• ultim- (from Latin ultimus: last, farthest)
• -atum (Latin neuter noun suffix forming 'a thing that is')