Generally, a quoin is a wedge, used to support or anchor other items. More specifically, quoin may refer to: Technically a portable double inclined plane, a wedge is a simple machine used to separate two objects, or portions of objects, through the application of force, perpendicular to the inclined surfaces, developed by conversion of force applied to the blunt end. ...
Italianate Quoins Architectural Style
In architecture, quoins are the corner stones that anchor the edge of the building wall.
Quoins may be structural, or may be decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building. Rough-finished or rusticated masonry is also frequently used for foundation layers of buildings to give the same impression. Quoinage can be carried out in stone on a stone building, with stone on a predominantly brick building, or by laying brick masonry to give the appearance of blocks at the corner. If structural, quoins are usually part of load bearing walls; if decorative, they may be made of a variety of materials including brick, stone and wood. The most common form of decorative use for a quoins uses an alternative pattern of rectangles that wrap around the wall, mimicking the pattern of stone blocks or brick as they would wrap around a corner and thus join the two walls. In Georgian architecture, wooden quoins were most often part of an overall theme to imply stone, and thus permanence.
In printing, quoins are wedges used by printers to hold the hand-set type in place in a printer's chase. It is sometimes claimed that this is the orgin and true spelling of the expression "to coin a phrase," (i.e., "to quoin a phrase"), but a simple check of the history of the words in the OED shows this claim to be bogus.
In naval warfare, a quoin was a wedge manipulated at the breech end of a cannon to raise or lower the barrel.
Feeds |
Contact