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 obsolete in many jurisdictions and, when current, used mainly in British English meaning "inferior in rank". In the 18th and 19th century legal world, the word was more often pronounced /pwiːni/ to distance it from its anglicized form puny, an adjective meaning "weak or undersized".