coin

coin, quoin

1.The corner of a building.

2. The stones or bricks which form the corner.

3. A wedge.

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quoin, coign, coin

stone quoins set in brickwork

In masonry, a hard stone or brick used, with similar ones, to reinforce an external corner or edge of a wall or the like; often distinguished decoratively from adjacent masonry; may be imitated in non-load-bearing materials. Occasionally imitated, for decorative purposes, by wood that has been finished to look like masonry.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.