Forms: 6 quoyne, 6–8 quoyn, 7 quoine, 7– quoin; 7 quain; 7–8 quine. [var. spelling of COIN, formerly used in all senses of that word, but now restricted to the following uses, in which coin, coign are also occasionally employed.]
1. Build. a. An external angle of a wall or building; also, one of the stones or bricks serving to form the angle; a corner-stone. = COIN sb. 1.
Rustic quoin, one projecting from the general surface of the wall, usually with bevelled edges.
1532. in W. H. Turner, Select. Rec. Oxford, 114. The quoyne of the wall of a tenement.
c. 1640. J. Smyth, Lives Berkeleys (1883), II. 66. The walls, vautes, quines of doors and windows they razed and tear a down.
1663. Gerbier, Counsel, 71. Flowers for the Cross work in the gallace in these quains.
1670. L. Stuckley, Gospel-Glass, xxxiv. 365. So many quoines to lock together all parts of the building into one.
1703. Moxon, Mech. Exerc., 261. At an upright Quine … lay a three quarter Bat at the Quine in the stretching course.
1725. Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Wall, Certain courses, ledges, or Quoins of more strength than the rest, must be interlaid like bones to strengthen the whole fabrick.
1820. W. Irving, Sketch Bk., II. 197. It is a large building of brick, with stone quoins.
1862. Ansted, Channel Isl., I. ii. (ed. 2), 29. The walls are of island Sand-stone, with quoins of Caen stone.
b. An internal angle or corner, as of a room. Hollow quoin, a recess in the walls at each end of a canal lock, to receive the heel-post of the gate.
1825. J. Nicholson, Operat. Mechanic, 627. If a room consists of more than four quoins, the additional corners must be allowed at per foot run.
1838. Simms, Pub. Wks. Gt. Brit., ii. 6. The joint between the heel-post and hollow quoin is made watertight by the gate being … worked backwards and forwards.
2. A wedge, or wedge-shaped block, used for various special purposes. a. Printing. A short wedge used to lock up a form.
1570. Levins, Manip., 215/17. A Printers quoyn, cuneus, cuneolus.
1683. Moxon, Mech. Exerc., Printing, viii. Quoyns are … of different Lengths, and different Breadths. Ibid., x. ¶ 9. The extuberancies of Nail-heads would hinder the free sliding of the Quoins.
1727–41. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Printing, The compositor … unlocking the form … by knocking out or loosening the quoins.
1824. J. Johnson, Typogr., II. xv. 534. When the form gets out of register … by the starting of the quoins which secure the chase.
1880. Printing Times, 15 Feb., 30/1. The form having been properly planed … slightly slacken the quoins.
b. Gunnery. (a) A wedge-shaped piece of wood, with a handle at the thick end, used to raise or lower a gun. (b) = QUOINER. ? Obs. (c) A small wedge used in fixing the breech of a gun.
1627. Capt. Smith, Seaman’s Gram., xiv. 65. Quoines … are great wedges of wood with a little handle at the end to put them forward or backward for leuelling the Peece.
1707. Gloss. Angl. Nova, Quoin, a wedge fastned on the Deck, close to the Breech of the Carriages of the great Guns, to keep them firm up to the Ship’s sides.
1711. Milit. & Sea Dict. (ed. 4), s.v., The Quoyns the Gunners use under the Guns, to mount them higher or lower.
1805. in Nicolas, Disp. Nelson (1845), VII. 171, note. Our people took the quoins out, and elevated their guns.
1881. Greener, Gun, 476. For the larger cannon Sir W. G. Armstrong uses a quoin tightened by a screwed breech-plug.
c. Naut. A wedge used to prevent casks from rolling. Cantic quoin, standing quoin (see quot. 1711, and cf. CANTIC a., CANTING ppl. a.).
1712. Milit. & Sea Dict. (ed. 4), s.v., Cantick Quoyns, being short, with three Edges, to put betwixt the Cask at the Bildge Hoops, to keep the Cask steady from rowling, and labouring one against another…. The standing Quoyns,… a fit Length to be driven across betwixt the Buts … to keep the Chine of the But steady from jogging.
1769. Falconer, Dict. Marine (1776), Y y iij. Quoins or coins used in the stowage of a ship’s hold.
1867. in Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk.
d. Build. The key-stone, or any one of the wedge-shaped stones (voussoirs) of an arch. rare.
1730. A. Gordon, Maffei’s Amphith., 306. In the middle, at the Key-Stone or Quoin.
1873. Tristram, Moab, ii. 20. Over the doorway … was let in an old quoin on which was cut an Arabic inscription.
3. An angle, or angular object. rare.
1838. Simms, Pub. Wks. Gt. Brit., 36. The quantity thus cut off from the acute quoin is gradually diminished to the opposite or obtuse quoin.
1868. Kinglake, Crimea (1877), IV. ix. 230. It is only by an isthmus … of high land that the triangular quoin remains joined to the bulk of the Chersonese.
1878. Gurney, Crystallogr., 30. Similar quoins or solid angles are such as are contained by the same number of plane angles.
4. Comb., as quoin-drawer, -post, -stone (see quots.).
1688. R. Holme, Armoury, III. 111/2. Quine stones … are Stones laid in a Brick wall at the corners of a House—a yard long and three Brick in thickness.
1875. J. Southward, Dict. Typogr., 117. Quoin-drawer, a drawer in the frame of the imposing-stone in which the quoins are kept.
1875. Knight, Dict. Mech., 1849/2. Quoin post, the heel-post or a lock-gate.
