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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
Edgar Sandoval, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2025
They were raised Muslim and regularly attended a mosque on Friday nights while growing up, but Jabbar never showed any signs of radicalization.
—Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
Just days after a high-profile terror attack on London Bridge killed eight in 2017, a man influenced by far-right ideas drove a van into worshippers outside a London mosque.
—Avery Lotz, Axios, 2 Jan. 2025
The project, helmed by directors Radha Mehta and Saif Jaan, explores the story of an imam facing a moral crossroads between upholding traditional mosque values and protecting a male congregant’s spiritual journey.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 31 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Mosque.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mosque. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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mosque
noun
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