Definition

1. Noun:
   • The keystone of an arch: A wedge-shaped stone at the apex of an arch that locks the other stones in place.
   • An expandable metal or wooden wedge used by printers: A device used in traditional printing to secure a form (the assembled type and blocks) within a rectangular frame called a chase.

Usage

• The word "coigne" is a specialized architectural and printing term. It is synonymous with and often spelled as "quoin". It is used in technical or historical contexts.

Examples

• Noun (Architecture):

  • The stability of the vault depended on the central coigne.
  • Restorers carefully replaced the weathered coigne in the Roman arch.

• Noun (Printing):

  • The typesetter tightened the coigne to lock the form before printing.
  • Old printing presses used wooden coignes to secure the type.

Advanced Usage

• "To be a coigne of vantage": This is an archaic literary phrase meaning a favorable position for observation or action. It originates from Shakespeare's (Act I, Scene VI).
  • The hilltop served as a coigne of vantage for the general to survey the battlefield.

Variants and Related Words

• Quoin: The more common modern spelling for both meanings of "coigne".
• Keystone: A direct synonym for the architectural meaning.
• Cornerstone: While often used metaphorically, it can literally refer to a stone at the corner of a building, related in concept to a structural key stone.

Synonyms

• For the architectural meaning: Keystone, capstone, headstone.
• For the printing meaning: Wedge, locking wedge.

Notes

• "Coigne" is a rare and somewhat archaic spelling. In contemporary usage, "quoin" is almost universally preferred, especially in technical fields like architecture, masonry, and historical printing.

Noun

1. the keystone of an arch
2. expandable metal or wooden wedge used by printers to lock up a form within a chase