A member of an international secret society called Freemasonry that performs rituals, uses symbolic architecture, and emphasizes brotherhood, charity, and personal improvement.
From 'free' (not bound to a guild) + 'mason' (stone worker). Evolved from medieval stonemasons' guilds in 14th-century Scotland into a symbolic fraternal organization in the 1600s.
Medieval freemasons were literal stone workers who traveled between building sites and had secret signs and passwords so they could prove their skills—the secret codes became rituals, and the guild became a philosophy club.
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