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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
Danuta Hamlin, FOXNews.com, 13 Apr. 2025
The housing proposals were drawn up by People Acting for Community Together, or PACT, a nonprofit interfaith group made up of some 40 churches, synagogues and mosques in Miami-Dade that advocates for solutions to some of the county’s most pressing social issues.
—Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
In the town of Taungoo, 70 miles south of the capital Naypyidaw, three people were killed after a mosque partially collapsed, Reuters reported.
—Ross Adkin, Alex Stambaugh and Kocha Olarn, CNN Money, 28 Mar. 2025
The activities of mosques were closely monitored in the past.
—Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Mar. 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 2 May. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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