Puisne (/ˈpjuːni/; from Old French puisné, modern puîné, "later born, younger" (and thence, "inferior") from late Latin post-, "after", and natus, "born") is a legal term of art used mainly in British English meaning "inferior in rank".
[1][2] The judges and barons of the national common law courts at Westminster, other than those having a distinct title, were called puisne.
[3] Puisne courts existed as lower courts[citation needed] in the early stages in the judiciary in British North America, in particular Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
In England and Wales, a puisne mortgage is a mortgage over an unregistered estate in land where the mortgagee (lender) does not take possession of the title deeds from the mortgagor (borrower) as security.
[7][8] Puisne mortgages are generally a second or subsequent mortgage,[9][10] and in the event of default of the mortgagor generally rank in the order of registration, not in the order in which they were created.