D defs.my
Entry 1 sense Webster, 1913

Mesne

/mēn/ · IPA /miːn/
01 a. Middle; intervening; as, a mesne lord, that is, a lord who holds land of a superior, but grants a part of it to another person, in which ca…
  1. 1.
    Middle; intervening; as, a mesne lord, that is, a lord who holds land of a superior, but grants a part of it to another person, in which case he is a tenant to the superior, but lord or superior to the second grantee, and hence is called the mesne lord.(Law)
Phrases & compounds
Mesne process — intermediate process; process intervening between the beginning and end of a suit, sometimes understood to be the whole process preceding the execution.