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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
Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 2 Oct. 2025
Over the centuries, Muslim traders built mosques and schools in sedate Tamale, which was more inland and distant from the direct links of the transatlantic slave and colonial trade.
—Edna Bonhomme, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2025
The lawsuit concluded in 2014, with the mosque successfully defending its right to worship in Murfreesboro.
—Angele Latham, Nashville Tennessean, 26 Sep. 2025
Eight years later, Brenton Tarrant killed 51 people in two separate shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, after hereleased a more than 80-page manifesto filled with anti-Muslim, extremist language.
—Connor Greene, Time, 24 Sep. 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 9 Oct. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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