Coign
/kɔɪn/noun
A projecting corner or angle, especially of a building or wall.
Did you know?Shakespeare famously wrote that “there is a tide in the affairs of men” that must be taken “at the flood,” and older English writers used *coign* in the phrase *coign of vantage* for a strategic high corner — a literal place of advantage.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
cuneus
“wedge”
Old French
OF
coigne
“corner, angle; wedge-shaped piece”
Middle English
ME
coign
“corner, projecting angle”
16th Century
English
coign of vantage
“a strategic corner or position of advantage”
Modern English
English
coign
“a projecting corner or angle, especially of a building or wall”