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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
Conor Wight, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
Schools, mosques, workplaces and media all became part of an ideological ecosystem designed to reinforce loyalty to the regime.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 7 Mar. 2026
Know your rights message Coinciding with Ramadan, some Muslim groups have issued know-your-rights guidance for navigating immigration enforcement interactions, including for mosques.
—Luis Andres Henao, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026
Over four decades, the regime has bureaucratized the clergy, tying seminaries, mosques and religious foundations ever more tightly to the organs of power.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
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 Mar. 2026.
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mosque
noun
