Where does “Freemason” come from?
Freemason (English) comes from English Mason, from Middle English masoun, from Anglo-Norman French machun, from Old French maçon, from Latin maciō, from Frankish makōn, from Proto-West Germanic -ōn, from Proto-Germanic -ōną — he, she.
Freemason (English): A member of the Free and Accepted Masons (sometimes entitled Ancient Free and Accepted Masons), an international fraternal and charitable organization
Definitions
- A member of the Free and Accepted Masons (sometimes entitled Ancient Free and Accepted Masons), an international fraternal and charitable organization
Ancestry of “Freemason”, step by step
Freemason traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Mason
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Mason | A Freemason |
| 2 | Middle English | masoun | — |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman French | machun | — |
| 4 | Old French | maçon | mason; builder |
| 5 | Latin | maciō | mason |
| 6 | Frankish | makōn | to build, make, work; to work, build, make; to... |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | -ōn | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 12 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via English Free
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Free | Unconstrained |
| 2 | English | faller | One who falls; A fruit that falls from the tree,... |
| 3 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 4 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 5 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 6 | Latin | -ārius | er |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *-āzios | Forms relational adjectives to nouns (and rarely numerals) |