Coign

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kɔɪn/

Definitions

1. A projecting part of a wall or a structure at its corner that can also refer to a keystone or anchoring stone in construction
2. An architectural term for the external angle of a building or a structural stone that provides stability and support
3. A stone or block forming the corner or angle of a building, often used for structural support and alignment

Etymology: "Coign" is a variant spelling of "quoin," the corner stone of a building, and the two words are the same word in different clothes. The spelling "coign" is the older form in English, and it has come down with a second, more abstract sense: a vantage point or a favourable position, as in "coign of vantage." That usage is the one most readers meet today, and it is often the only way the word appears in print. The word's physical meaning, the solid corner of a wall, is what connects it to construction. A projecting angle of masonry, sometimes a keystone set to bind two walls together, gives the term its original sense, and the vantage-point usage grows naturally from it: a corner offers a view along two faces at once.

Synonyms: corner, angle