- puny
- 1540s, "inferior in rank," from M.Fr. puîné, from O.Fr. puisné "born later, younger" (12c., contrasted with aisné "first-born"), from puis "afterward" (from V.L. *postius, from L. postea, from post "after") + O.Fr. né "born," from L. natus, pp. of nasci "be born" (Old L. gnasci; see genus). Sense of "small, weak, insignificant" first recorded 1590s.