Masonic

How to spell masonic

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce masonic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does masonic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Freemasons or to the practices and symbols of Freemasonry.

Masonic in a sentence

• The old hall was once used for masonic meetings on Tuesday evenings.

• He inherited a masonic ring engraved with a square and compass.

Where does masonic come from?

Language of origin: French

This adjective is built from 'mason', which entered English in the 1200s through Old French 'masson' or 'maçon', meaning a worker who builds in stone or brick. The Old French form is usually traced back to a Germanic root meaning 'to make' or 'to fashion', the same family of ideas that gave us words about shaping and constructing. By the early modern period the medieval guilds of stoneworkers had inspired the fraternal society of Freemasons, and 'mason' came to point at that brotherhood as much as the craft. The suffix '-ic', from the Latin '-icus' and Greek '-ikos', simply means 'relating to', so 'masonic' literally describes anything pertaining to Masons or to Freemasonry. The single 's' and single 'n' are the spelling trap, since neither consonant doubles even though the stress falls heavily on that middle syllable.

How the word is built

• mason (stoneworker; here Freemason)
• -ic (adjective suffix: relating to)