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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
Ken Chitwood, The Conversation, 5 Nov. 2025
A couple of weeks before his election victory, Zohran Mamdani stood in front of a mosque in the Bronx.
—Sadiq Khan, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
In August, at least 50 worshippers were killed — some shot, others burned alive — when gunmen attacked a mosque in the north-western Katsina State, Reuters reported.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
Two five-star hotels, apartments, town houses and villas, schools, three mosques, a mall, two universities and two world-class museums are part of the project.
—Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 30 Oct. 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 13 Nov. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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