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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
Essie Assibu, Variety, 27 Nov. 2025
New Zealand bolstered its gun restrictions after a 2019 white supremacist attack on two mosques in the city of Christchurch.
—Charlottegraham-McLay The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 26 Nov. 2025
Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique — Musty salt air crept at dusk over the nets and moored boats on northern Mozambique’s coast as seven armed and uniformed men marched into the fishing community last month, demanding the keys to the mosque.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 21 Nov. 2025
The historic building, originally built in the 1920s as a Shriners mosque, was threatened with demolition.
—Jobina Fortson-Evans, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mosque
Cite this Entry
“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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