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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
Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Muslims can donate this form of charity to non-profits, or mosques holding Eid prayer will collect these donations, directly giving it to those in need.
—The Enquirer, 9 Apr. 2024
The organization and mosque leadership then determine what would be a best fit for the congregation and its local community.
—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 8 Apr. 2024
Volunteers have cleaned up debris and the mosque carpet for people who wish to pray.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 2024
On one end of Mr. Mohamed’s block, a new Shake Shack sits across the street from Masjid at-Taqwa, a mosque that broke away from the Nation of Islam in 1981.
—Liam Stack Stephanie Keith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Hamas brutalizes children, abuses captives, steals food, fires its rockets indiscriminately, wears no uniforms, and hides behind schools, hospitals, and mosques.
—Matthew Continetti, National Review, 6 Apr. 2024
Satellite imagery shows that more than 30% of Gaza's buildings − entire neighborhoods once teeming with schools, mosques, coffee shops, traffic, clothing stores, restaurants, sports fields − have been reduced to rubble.
—USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
The largest and among the oldest mosques in Gaza, it was destroyed by an Israeli missile in December.
—Ghada Abdulfattah, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near mosque
Cite this Entry
“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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mosque
noun
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