mason
/ˈmeɪs(ə)n
/noun
1A person skilled in cutting, dressing, and laying stone in buildings: the chief mason at Westminster Abbey...
- He was a mason, plasterer, bricklayer, and later a building contractor.
- If the wells are made of brick, a mason or a skilled handyman can add another row or two of bricks on top of the existing wall.
- The Minster has a skilled team of masons ready to begin.
2 (Mason) A Freemason: a Mason’s handshake...
- He is similarly unconvinced, taking the grand master of the Masons at his word when he denied that the man had been a member.
- The Church reciprocated by forbidding membership in the Masons under pain of excommunication.
- It is believed that thousands of clergy and churchgoers are among the 350,000 British members of the Masons.
verb [with object]
1Build from or strengthen with stone: the other building was masoned up out of hewn limestone...
- The derelict planks of the entrance creak and whine open; a gust of incensed wind trespasses our slice of heaven for a second, and then someone standing at the foot of the masoned steps points up into the shaft: ‘Ahi, Tonin's come!’
- She took a closer look out her masoned window, and was relieved when she saw the person she had hoped to see.
- The hypocausts from masoned brickwork were surprisingly well preserved.
1.1Cut or dress (stone): one course of massive stones, roughly masoned...
- Our masoned stone originally comes from blocks of stone which are taken off their natural beds and split into manageable sizes.
- Soon we were supplying the trade primarily with masoned stone, most usually in the form of new doorsteps.
- Simple carved images on rough boulders blend easily with natural features in landscape, while the sophisticated textures of masoned stone enhance architectural forms both inside and out.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French masson (noun), maçonner (verb), probably of Germanic origin; perhaps related to make.