noun
cowan
KOH-uhn
noun
1
A stonemason who builds with unmortared, dry stone and never trained as a formal apprentice.
"The old drystone walls were built by cowans working without any mortar at all."
2
In Freemasonry, someone who tries to pass as a member without having gone through the proper initiation.
"Lodge officers were trained to spot a cowan trying to bluff his way into a meeting."
3
An overly curious or prying person who noses into matters that don't concern them.
"Nobody liked discussing private business in front of the local cowan."
How to Use Cowan
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn outsider or pretender — historically a self-taught stonemason, later a term for someone faking membership in a secretive group.
When to use it
Rare outside historical, trades, or Masonic contexts.
Word Forms
cowans plural, cowanis plural, cowans plural
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Etymology
First recorded in Scots in the late 1500s; its exact origin is debated, but it entered Masonic vocabulary as a term for an outsider or uninitiated pretender.