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puisne

American  
[pyoo-nee] / ˈpju ni /

adjective

  1. Law. younger; inferior in rank; junior, as in appointment.


noun

  1. an associate judge as distinguished from a chief justice.

puisne British  
/ ˈpjuːnɪ /

adjective

  1. (esp of a subordinate judge) of lower rank

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of puisne

1590–1600; < Anglo-French, equivalent to Old French puis after (< Latin posteā ) + ne born, past participle of naistre to be born (< Latin nāscere ); cf. puny

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

So he enlisted as butler in the family of a puisne judge.

From Time Magazine Archive

Judge of the Superior Court of Lower Canada, 1855-1863; assistant judge of the Court of Queen's Bench for Quebec, 1863-1864; puisne judge of the same Court, 1866-1874.

From The Makers of Canada: Index and Dictionary of Canadian History by Various

Each of these courts consists of a judge-president and two puisne judges.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various

On becoming Solicitor-General, in 1834, he received the honour of knighthood, and at the close of 1839 accepted a puisne judgeship as one of the Barons of Exchequer. 

From Norfolk Annals A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 2 by Charles Mackie

The supreme court consists of a chief justice and two puisne judges, and has various jurisdictions.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 6 "Groups, Theory of" to "Gwyniad" by Various

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