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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
Sean Durns, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
In order to embolden and support his organization, bin Laden often videotaped himself with messages aimed at his target audience, established training centers in Afghanistan, had an expansive funding network that included wealthy individuals, couriers, mosques and other complex ways to raise funds.
—Richard Frankel, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2025
Hazmi and Mihdhar went to Thumairy's mosque shortly after arriving and witnesses later placed them in the imam’s company, court records show.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
The Paris prosecutor’s office said pig heads had been found in front of at least two mosques in Paris and one just outside the city limits.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 9 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 13 Sep. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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