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
Recent Examples on the WebAfter the prayers end, mourners carry Amro’s body out of the mosque.—Marcus Yam, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024 Whole neighborhoods were devastated in the northeastern part of the city, where gas cylinders were turned into makeshift bombs and tossed into mosques.—Sameer Yasir, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2024 In January, Modi inaugurated a vast Hindu temple on the site of a 16th-century mosque that was destroyed by Hindu hardliners more than 30 years ago.—Vedika Sud, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 The mosque is part of Temple Mount, the holiest place in Judaism where two biblical Temples once stood.—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024 Some days later, Hamid and a few of his sons were walking home from a tent used as a mosque.—Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The militants have urged Palestinians across Israel and the occupied West Bank to stream to the mosque during Ramadan to challenge anticipated Israeli restrictions on worship and movement.—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2024 This week, the dozens of workers who were racing to prepare the mosque still had no idea what to expect.—Sufian Taha, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 Abdallah — who is council chairman for Dearborn Heights, and on the board of directors at the Islamic Institute of America, one of the city’s largest mosques — has volunteered as a ghus’l al-mayyit, or body washer, for over a decade.—Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 7 Mar. 2024
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.
Word History
Etymology
earlier mosquee, from Middle French, from Old Italian moschea, from Old Spanish mezquita, from Arabic masjid temple, from sajada to prostrate oneself, worship
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