puisne

American  

[pyoo-nee] / ˈpyu 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

---

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Appointed attorney-general the same year and held office until 1847, when he was appointed to the Court of Queen's Bench, Lower Canada; puisne judge of the Superior Court, 1849-1868.

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

The judges were Lord Widdrington, the Lord Chief-Justice of the King's Bench, and Mr. Justice Grayley, a puisne judge of the same court—both admirable lawyers.

From Ten Thousand a-Year. Volume 1. by Warren, Samuel

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 Mackie, Charles

In 1855 became puisne judge of the Supreme Court of New Brunswick; in 1865 chief-justice of New Brunswick; and in 1875 puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada.

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