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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
Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 19 Sep. 2024
Americans who identify as religious are far more likely to donate to charity, but as of 2020, only 47 percent of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, down from 70 percent in 1999.
—Rachel M. Cohen, Vox, 17 Sep. 2024
That day nearly 100 people were killed in Gaza when a school and mosque were hit by an Israeli airstrike during morning prayers.
—Daniel Santiago, TIME, 13 Sep. 2024
Afterward, far-right influencers spread lies about the identity of the attacker, spurring white supremacists and other protesters to attack mosques, immigration centers and individual migrants over several days.
—Will Carless, USA TODAY, 17 Aug. 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.
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“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.
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mosque
noun
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