freemasonryn.
/ˈfriːˌmeɪsnri/, U.S. /ˈfriˌmeɪsnri/ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or constructing with stone > [noun] > occupation of specific body of stoneworkers
freemasonry1435
masonry1686
1435 in Archaeologia 22 331 The seyd John Wode schal werke..on the stepil in the seyd monasterye in all manner thynges that longe to fremasounrye.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. xiii. 467/2 Those that desire farther instruction in the Theorick part of Free Masonry, they may peruse [etc.].
2. Usually in form Freemasonry. The principles, practices, and institutions of Freemasons (Freemason n. 2); (also) Freemasons collectively.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > the Freemasons > freemasonry
freemasonry1728
masonry1826
Templary1859
Freemasonism1893
1728 D. Defoe Second Thoughts are Best Pref. p. iv They love Darkness, Whispers, and Free-Masonry.
1796 ‘A. Barton’ Disappointment (ed. 2) ii. i. 35 If I had been so minded, I could have got the whole secret of Free-masonry [1767 masonry] out of him.
1825 T. B. Macaulay Milton in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 338 Most of their absurdities were mere external badges, like the signs of free-masonry, or the dresses of friars.
1874 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch vii. lxvi. 496 Probably its regular visitants, like the initiates of freemasonry, wished that there were something a little more tremendous to keep to themselves concerning it.
1886 B. P. Poore Perley's Reminisc. I. 47 The visit of General Lafayette to Washington gave a great impetus to Free-Masonry there.
1919 Musical Q. 5 564 He has sedulously avoided joining his music to such things as freemasonry, theosophy and philosophy.
1977 R. Rosenbaum in Esquire Sept. 87/2 They were an esoteric secret society within the more mystical freethinking lodges of German Freemasonry.
2000 H. S. Pyper in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 680/2 In later symbolic elaborations of the Temple, for instance, Freemasonry, its design is taken as reflecting his [sc. Solomon's] unrivalled insight into the cosmos.
3. figurative. A secret or tacit relationship of brotherhood or mutual support; instinctive sympathy, rapport, or fellow feeling between people with something in common.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > [noun] > love between kinsmen > brotherly love > quality or state of being brotherly > in secret
freemasonry1753
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. l. 401 Women, I see, have their free-masonry, as well as men!
1810 W. Scott Let. 30 Mar. (1932) II. 318 There is a free masonry among kindred spirits..that always leads them to understand each other at little expence of words.
1846 A. Smith Christopher Tadpole (1848) vii. 68 There seemed to be a sort of free-masonry amongst them.
1899 G. B. Shaw Let. 29 Sept. (1972) II. 106. There being between Maggie [sc. Margaret Hobhouse] & myself a sort of rapscallionly freemasonry.
1952 E. Templeton Island of Desire ii. ii. 160 There existed a secret league, a kind of freemasonry.
1985 R. Davies What's bred in Bone i. 26 He was well aware of Hamish McRory through the freemasonry of the rich, which overrides even politics.
1992 B. Harley & J. Harley Gardener at Chatsworth vi. 65 He revealed very clearly the freemasonry that existed among the gardeners of the great houses.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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