The Collaborative International Dictionary
Soken \Sok"en\, n. [Cf. Socome.]
A toll. See Soc, n.,
-
[Obs.]
Great sooken had this miller, out of doubt.
--Chaucer.2. A district held by socage.
Wiktionary
n. The ancient right (usually conferred by royalty) to hold a local court of justice and levy specific fees and fines. A 'soke' or 'soken' was the area over which this right was established. More specifically, the 'resort' (right) of specific farmers to have their grain ground at a specific mill or, inversely, the right of a mill to that custom. Also, specifically, a right of prosecution and judgement. Older meanings include a place that is regularly frequented. The word 'soken' is used in Stow (1598) in a way that implies regular usage / clear meaning, e.g. with reference to Portsoken Ward, outside the walls of the City of London which originated as a 'liberty' (a practically synonymous term) for a guild of knights.
Usage examples of "soken".
In the City of London the Fitzwalters had a soken extending from the wall of the Canonry of St.
His father, Ogata Soken, had also maintained the family interest in the Koetsu-Sotatsu school of art.
But unfortunately, Soken was less able than his predecessors to afford the leisure from business that the pursuit of art required, and it was during his time that the Ogata family fortunes declined.