Definition of PUISNE

puisne

Meanings

Plural: puisnes

Adj

  • Younger; junior.
  • Insignificant, petty; ineffectual.
  • Inferior in rank, as designation of any justice, judge etc. other than the most senior.
  • Coming later in time; subsequent, secondary.

Noun

  • A person of puisne rank.

Origin / Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pós
Proto-Indo-European *-ti
Proto-Indo-European *pós-ti
Proto-Italic *posti
Latin poste
Latin post
Proto-Indo-European *íh₂
Latin ea
Latin posteā
Vulgar Latin *postius
Old French puis
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tós
Proto-Italic *gnātos
Latin gnātus
Latin nātus
Old French né
Old French puisné
Middle French puisnébor.
English puisne
PIE word
*pós
From Anglo-Norman puisné (“later, more recent; junior; weakly”) [and other forms] and Middle French puisné (“born after (a specified person); younger, youngest; one who is born after (a specified person)”) (modern French puîné (“cadet (born after a sibling); a cadet (someone born after a sibling)”)), from puis (“after; since”) + né (“born”). Puis is derived from Old French pois (“after; since”), from Vulgar Latin *postius (“afterward”), from Latin posteā (“afterwards; hereafter; thereafter; next, then”), from post (“after; since”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pós (“afterwards”)) + ea (“these (things)”); and né from Latin nātus (“born”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”).

Scrabble Score: 8

puisne is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
puisne is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
puisne is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

puisne is a valid Words With Friends word