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Glite Dictionary
🔩 A locking wedge 🏛️ A top stone
coign

coign

9.9
A small wedge used by printers to hold type tightly in place
  • noun
  • /kɔɪn/
  • Archaic
translation icon : cuña
  • The printer adjusted the coign to make sure the form was held tightly in the chase.

Examples

  • Several coigns were required to keep the type from shifting during the press run.

  • He learned to set type and use a coign as part of his apprenticeship in the print shop.

  • The printer used a coign to secure the type.

  • Have you ever seen a coign in action?

  • The printer adjusted the coign to make sure the form was held tightly in the chase.

  • He learned to set type and use a coign as part of his apprenticeship in the print shop.

  • Several coigns were required to keep the type from shifting during the press run.

Synonyms

catch
vscoign
52 5.6

A device that holds or locks something closed

is the printer-specific wedge used to lock forms within a chase
quoin
vscoign
  • Archaic
9.9

A metal or wooden wedge that locks printing type in place

is the same device but appears as an alternative spelling
coigne
vscoign
  • Archaic
9.9

A small wedge used to hold type tightly in a printing frame

is the general term that focuses on expandability rather than adjustable feature

Surface Forms

coign singular
coigns plural

Etymology

Coign comes from an old French word coin meaning 'corner' or 'wedge', and it kept that idea. In printing, a coign is a small wedge used to lock type in place, so its origin explains why it is a piece that holds things tight.