A Freemason is a man who is a member of a large secret society. Freemasons promise to help each other, and use a system of secret signs in order to recognize each other.
freemason in British English
(ˈfriːˌmeɪsən)
noun
medieval history
a member of a guild of itinerant skilled stonemasons, who had a system of secret signs and passwords with which they recognized each other
Derived forms
freemasonic (ˌfriːməˈsɒnɪk)
adjective
Freemason in British English
(ˈfriːˌmeɪsən)
noun
a member of the widespread secret order, constituted in London in 1717, of Free and Accepted Masons, pledged to brotherly love, faith, and charity
Sometimes shortened to: Mason
Derived forms
Freemasonic (ˌfriːməˈsɒnɪk)
adjective
Freemason in American English
(ˈfriˌmeɪsən)
noun
a member of an international secret society having as its principles brotherliness, charity, and mutual aid
: also Free and Accepted Mason
Word origin
< obs. freemason, a skilled itinerant mason, free to move from town to town without restraint by localguilds