As soon as 1730 in England, the word Scots or Scottish has become synonymous with élite masonry. The various meanings of the word will only become more numerous in the course of the 18th century.
In the second third of the same 18th century, new degreess appear in Ireland and England such as that of the Royal Arch which is considered by Michel Brodsky as a logical continuity of the Master’s degree. In 1733, in a London Lodge, the presence of Scots Masters is attested. From then on, Scots, Scottish, no longer refer to a geographical origin, but to a masonic rank.
In France, the word Scots or Scottish first refers to a degree originating in England, together with the denominations « Perfect Maste » and « Elected Master ». In 1743, the first Grand Lodge warned against the Scots Masters who « in certain Lodges claim rights and privileges ».
In southern France, in 1745-46, the word Scots or Scottish is used to mean the Sacred Vault. It thus appears as a French version of the british Royal Arch.
It also seems that Scottish degrees became more and more numerous in France. Simulteanously, the words Scots or Scottish refer to a degree or to a more or less ordered series of post-Master degrees.
The so-called Scots degrees gave birth to a neologism : « Ecossism », which, later on, will be applied to the higher-grade systems as a whole.