coign

A coign (also written quoin, coigne, and coin) is the exterior angle of a wall, tower, keep, etc. and all component stones of the angle. Coign stones tend to be larger than the stones of the wall proper, and lend an aesthetic to the structure. A coign is also the term for a keystone in an arched doorway. The origin of the word is from the French coin, meaning "corner".

In printwork, a coign is a wooden or metal wedge to lock the type in a chase.

In the context of missle weapons, a coign is a wedge used to raise the angle of a gun or other projectile weapon.

Coign (?), n.

A var. spelling of Coin, Quoin, a corner, wedge; -- chiefly used in the phrase coign of vantage, a position advantageous for action or observation.

From some shielded nook or coign of vantage.
The Century.

The lithosphere would be depressed on four faces; . . . the four projecting coigns would stand up as continents.
Nature.

 

© Webster 1913