Adjacent Words

freemasonry definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a natural or instinctive fellowship between people of similar interests; "he enjoyed the freemasonry of the Press"
2: Freemasons collectively [syn: Freemasonry, Masonry]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1730 1. capitalized the principles, institutions, or practices of Freemasons — called also Masonry 2. natural fellowship based on some common experience

Britannica Concise

Teachings and practices of the fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, the largest worldwide secret society. Originating with the guilds of medieval stonemasons, the organization became an honorary society in the 17th and 18th cent., adopting the rites and trappings of ancient religious orders and chivalric brotherhoods. The first association of lodges, the Grand Lodge, was founded in England in 1717, and Freemasonry soon spread to other countries in the British Empire. Freemasons took an active role in the Amer. Revolution and later in U.S. politics, and in the 19th cent. popular fears of their influence led to the Anti-Masonic movement. Membership is extended only to adult males willing to express belief in a Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul. In Latin countries, the lodges have often attracted freethinkers and anticlerical types; in Anglo-Saxon nations, membership has mostly been drawn from white Protestants. Freemasonry has also given rise to social organizations such as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Noble Mystic Shrine, or Shriners.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the system and institutions of the Freemasons. 2 (freemasonry) instinctive sympathy or understanding.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Freemasonry Free"ma`son*ry, n. The institutions or the practices of freemasons.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Freemasonry is the organization of the Freemasons and their beliefs and practices. He was very active in Freemasonry. 2. Freemasonry is the friendly feeling that exists between people who are of the same kind or who have the same interests. ...the freemasonry of sailors. N-UNCOUNT: also a N, usu with supp

Moby Thesaurus

affiliation, alignment, alliance, amalgamation, association, boon companionship, brotherhood, brotherliness, cahoots, chumship, coadunation, coalescence, coalition, colleagueship, collegialism, collegiality, combination, community of interest, companionship, comradeship, confederacy, confederation, confraternity, consolidation, consortship, copartnership, copartnery, esprit de corps, federation, fellowship, fraternalism, fraternity, fraternization, fusion, hookup, inclusion, incorporation, integration, league, merger, partnership, sisterhood, sisterliness, sodality, sorority, tie-in, tie-up, unification, union