quoin

Plural: quoins

Noun

• expandable metal or wooden wedge used by printers to lock up a form within a chase
• the keystone of an arch
• (architecture) solid exterior angle of a building; especially one formed by a cornerstone
• Any of the corner building blocks of a building, usually larger or more ornate than the surrounding blocks.
• The keystone of an arch.
• A metal wedge which fits into the space between the type and the edge of a chase, and is tightened to fix the metal type in place.
• A form of wedge used to prevent casks from moving.
• A wedge of wood or iron put under the breech of heavy guns or the muzzle of siege-mortars to raise them to the proper level.
• A number of apple varieties with a distinctive ribbed appearance, like corners of a coin.

Verb

• To wedge or steady with quoins.
• -ED, -ING, -S to secure with a type of wedge

Synonyms

coign, coigne, corner, cornerstone