A lord's jurisdictional right over the district attached to a *manor, with the right to receive fines and other dues; later, this included the exclusive right within a district to mill corn - the mill being built and held by the lord as a means of extra income, esp. after the *plague of 1348. [< OldEngl. socn = right of jurisdiction] -
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.