Etymologically
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masonry

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈmeɪsənɹi/[1]

Etymology

Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Middle English masonrie, also masonerie,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French maçonerie,[2][6][7][3][4] from maçon (“mason”) and the suffix -erie, the source of -ery.[3][6][2] The revised OED instead treats it as formed in English from mason and -ry, perhaps after Anglo-Norman masonerie, maçonnerie (in Old French from about 1230, as Picard machonerie), or Medieval Latin maconeria, recorded in British sources from the late 12th century.[8] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from 1342.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Stonework or brickwork, work done by a mason: before 1425, in the Middle English Romaunt of the Rose attributed to Chaucer.[8] Etymonline dates "stonework, a construction of fitted stones" to the mid-14th century,[2] Merriam-Webster gives the 13th century,[3] and Dictionary.com 1325–75.[4]

Semantic evolution

The art or occupation of a mason, the craft of building in stone, is recorded from the early 15th century,[8][2] but the Shorter Oxford calls this sense now rare.[7] Chaucer used the word twice.[5] From 1686 it also meant the craft, principles and rituals of the Freemasons,[8] and in the 19th century it was slang for any system of secret signs and passwords (1841–96).[8] Since 1774 it has been used in an extended sense of things that resemble stonework,[8] and since 1875 attributively, of things built of masonry.[8] Johnson (1755) defined it only as "the craft or performance of a mason".[10]

Timeline

  • before 1425 – stonework, work done by a mason.[8] Etymonline dates it to the mid-14th century.[2]
  • c. 1425 – the art or occupation of a mason.[8][2]
  • 1686 – the craft and rituals of the Freemasons.[8]
  • 1841 – slang, a system of secret signs (obsolete by 1896).[8]
  • 1875 – as an adjective, built of masonry.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Something built by a mason of stone, brick, concrete blocks or tiles; stonework or brickwork: Loose masonry fell from the old bridge.[11][3][8]
  2. The craft or occupation of a mason.[11][3][8]
  3. (often capitalized) Freemasonry.[11][8]

Adjective

  1. Built of masonry: a masonry wall.[8]

Word family

  • masonry cement

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  6. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  11. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins