quoin

[koin, kwoin] /kɔɪn, kwɔɪn/
noun
1.
an external solid angle of a wall or the like.
2.
one of the stones forming it; cornerstone.
3.
any of various bricks of standard shape for forming corners of brick walls or the like.
4.
a wedge-shaped piece of wood, stone, or other material, used for any of various purposes.
5.
Printing. a wedge of wood or metal for securing type in a chase.
verb (used with object)
6.
to provide with quoins, as a corner of a wall.
7.
to secure or raise with a quoin or wedge.
Also, coign, coigne.
Origin
1525-35; variant of coin
Examples from the web for quoin
  • It was aimed simply by line of sight and elevated by a stepped wooden block called a quoin.
  • At the corners, bricks stand forth to form a quoin pattern vertically through the six stories.
  • They were used to move the carriage and to lift the breech of the gun so that the elevating quoin or screw might be adjusted.
British Dictionary definitions for quoin

quoin

/kwɔɪn; kɔɪn/
noun
1.
an external corner of a wall
2.
Also called cornerstone. a stone forming the external corner of a wall
3.
another name for keystone (sense 1)
4.
(printing) a metal or wooden wedge or an expanding mechanical device used to lock type up in a chase
5.
a wedge used for any of various other purposes, such as (formerly) to adjust elevation in muzzle-loading cannon
Word Origin
C16: variant of coin (corner)
Word Origin and History for quoin
n.

1530s, "a cornerstone," variant spelling of coin (n.); in early use also in other senses of that word, including "a wedge."