Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Lower in rank; junior.
- n. One of lesser rank than another, especially an associate judge.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- In law, younger or inferior in rank.
- Later.
- Same aspuny, 2.
- n. A junior; an inferior; specifically, in law, a judge of inferior rank.
Wiktionary
- adj. law Inferior in rank. A puisne justice of a court is a judge other than the chief justice.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. obsolete Later in age, time, etc.; subsequent.
- adj. obsolete Puny; petty; unskilled.
- adj. (Law) Younger or inferior in rank; junior; associate.
- n. One who is younger, or of inferior rank; a junior; esp., a judge of inferior rank.
Etymologies
- French puisné, now obsolete form of puîne, contraction of puis ("later") + né ("born"). Related to puny. (Wiktionary)
- Old French puisne : puis, afterward (ultimately from Latin post; see apo- in Indo-European roots) + ne, born (from Latin nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“To him no doubt more than one puisne judge, suffragan bishop, member of parliament, or cabinet minister today owe their careers, and each and every one of their youthful peccadilloes went with Arthur to his grave, which, incidentally, is under a pretty gum tree on the southeast side of the Bulpadock.”
“Memoir by the Honorable Sir John Peter Grant, Kt. of the reasons which induced him to resign his commission of one of His Majesty's puisne justices of the Supreme Court of Judicature, Bombay by John Peter Grant”
OpEdNews - Quicklink: Judge won't inquire into CIA tapes case
“Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts”
“MalawiSupreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts”
“After being a supernumerary for twelve years, M. Popinot would no doubt die a puisne judge of the Court of the Seine.”
“Madras — her quarrel with Lady Smith, wife of Sir Minos Smith the puisne judge, is still remembered by some at Madras, when the”
“All who had for five years filled the office of puisne judge.”
“Judgments in the field of human rights, in particular by former and serving Zimbabwean chief justices, judges of appeal and puisne judges, were in many instances of international standing.”
“Striking magistrates are demanding the judiciary implements better conditions of service and higher salaries as done with puisne and supreme court judges.”
“Mr Justice Botha was appointed Judge-President of the Orange Free State Provincial Division twenty-two months after he had been appointed to the Bench, and at a time when he was junior to most of his colleagues on the Bench and to twenty-eight other puisne judges in the country.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘puisne’.
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phrontistery - p
from phrontistery.info
pabouche, pabulous, pabulum, pacable, pace, pachydermia, pachyglossal, pachymeter, pachynsis, paciferous, pacificate, pactolian and 1766 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Clarissa, Or, The History of a Young ...
These words are from Samuel Richardson's novel Clarissa, Or, The History of a Young Lady, 1747-48
adumbrate, virago, varlet, rencounter, akimbo, palliate, amanuensis, amok, equipage, cully, se'ennight, resentments and 560 more...
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I am the law!
Words I learnt at law school
appeal, blackletter, contract, dictum, headnote, judgment, litigation, malfeasance, negligence, plaintiff, quantum, remedy and 216 more...
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Vanity Fair
sunshiny, equipage, wherry, affidavit, gimcracks, nabobs, palanquin, toxophilite, psha, superabundant, pomatums, finikin and 128 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3255 more...
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Diet
scamp, plucky, countenance, toddle, wither, jade, bobbish, obtuse, fatuity, puisne, insipid, palpable and 77 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for puisne.
yarb Lady O'Dowd is one of the greatest ladies in the Presidency of Madras--her quarrel with Lady Smith, wife of Sir Minos Smith the puisne judge, is still remembered by some at Madras, when the Colonel's lady snapped her fingers in the Judge's lady's face and said she'd never walk behind ever a beggarly civilian.
- Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ch. 43 Nov 27, 2008