Did you know?
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
Ahmed Ali Akbar, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2025
An even more pointed distinction comes when audio of a news report is layered over images of memorials and prayers for the victims of the mosque attack.
—Caryn James, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Jan. 2025
The latter evidenced by a public mosque speech from a top Iranian general saying, in effect, the Russians had betrayed them in Syria (see previous column).
—Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 20 Jan. 2025
The Israeli military has released images and videos alleging that Hamas has embedded military infrastructure including tunnels and rocket launchers within residential areas, including homes, schools, and mosques, further complicating the humanitarian crisis in the region.
—Justin Gest, Newsweek, 20 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mosque 
Dictionary Entries Near mosque
Cite this Entry
“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mosque
noun
Share