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
Recent Examples on the WebThousands of mosques, churches, homes, restaurants, colleges and other buildings have been turned to rubble across the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war continues.—Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 9 May 2024 Hindu nationalists were whipped up by a BJP campaign and believed the mosque was built on the site of Lord Ram's birth.—Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 6 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for mosque
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mosque.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
earlier mosquee, from Middle French, from Old Italian moschea, from Old Spanish mezquita, from Arabic masjid temple, from sajada to prostrate oneself, worship
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