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Mosques were known to the English-speaking world long before we called them mosques. In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, we used many different variations of the word—moseak, muskey, moschy, mos’keh, among others—until we finally hit on mosquee, emulating Middle French. The Middle French word had come by way of Italian and Old Spanish from the Arabic word for "temple," which is masjid. In the early 1700s, we settled on the present spelling, and mosque thus joined other English words related to Muslim worship: mihrab, for the special niche in a mosque that points towards Mecca; minaret, for the tall slender tower of a mosque; and muezzin, for the crier who, standing in the minaret, calls the hour of daily prayers.
Examples of mosque in a Sentence
Sophie Tanno, CNN, 27 Jan. 2025
Enforcement operations sweeping in at pick-up time outside your kid’s school, barging into local businesses or even into your church, synagogue, or mosque.
—Stephanie Rupp, New York Daily News, 21 Jan. 2025
That’s due in large part to its enviable location right on the Bosphorus waterway, where guests get prime seats for watching boats parade past the neighboring palaces, mosques, gardens, and bridges spanning both Europe and Asia.
—Elizabeth Brownfield, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
The campaign to return refugees became so heated that an imam issued a ruling saying Syrians could pray at home and avoid the mosque to protect themselves from being arrested and deported.
—Alia Malek, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
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Dictionary Entries Near mosque
Cite this Entry
“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 2 Feb. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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