puisne noun & adjective. ['pju:ni] L16.
[Old French (mod. puîne), from puis (from Latin postea afterwards) + né (from Latin natus born). Cf. PUNY.]
A. noun.
1. A junior; an inferior; a novice. L16-M17.

2. A puisne judge (see sense B.1 below). E19.
b. adjective.
1. Younger, junior. Now rare or obsolete exc. in Law, designating an ordinary judge of the High Court. E17.

2. Small, insignificant, petty. E17-L18.

3. Later, more recent, of subsequent date. Now chiefly in puisne mortgage below. M17.
puisne mortgage a legal mortgage of unregistered land in which the title-deeds are retained by a first mortgagee; subsequent mortgages will thus be puisne.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲