cowan
Americannoun
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a person who is not a member of the order of Freemasons but claims to be or seeks to discover or expose its secrets.
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Scot.. a builder of dry stone walls, especially one who is not trained in the trade of masonry.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Unfortunately, we still have cowans in this sense—men who try to be Masons without using the cement of brotherly love.
From The Builders A Story and Study of Masonry by Newton, Joseph Fort
A. The better to guard against cowans and enemies either ascending or descending, that the brethren might have timely notice of their approach, to prevent being surprised.
From The Mysteries of Free Masonry Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge by Morgan, William
For this purpose it was resolved to use different signs, words, and tokens, in every degree, by which they would be secured against cowans and Saracens.
From The Mysteries of Free Masonry Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge by Morgan, William
Brother Truth: "Mighty Father, it is midnight among the profane, or cowans, but the sun is in its meridian in this Lodge."
From The Mysteries of Free Masonry Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge by Morgan, William
"To keep off all cowans and eavesdroppers, and see that none pass or repass without permission from the chair."
From The Mysteries of Free Masonry Containing All the Degrees of the Order Conferred in a Master's Lodge by Morgan, William
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
