mosque

[ mosk, mawsk ]

noun

1. a Muslim temple or place of public worship.

mosque

/ mɒsk /

noun

1. a Muslim place of worship, usually having one or more minarets and often decorated with elaborate tracery and texts from the Koran Also calledmasjidmusjid

mosque

1. A Muslim house of worship with at least one minaret, a tall, slender tower with balconies, used for calling the faithful to prayer.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mosque¹

1600–10; earlier mosquee < Middle French < Italian moschea ≪ Arabic masjid, derivative of sajada to worship, literally, prostrate oneself; the -ee seems to have been taken as diminutive suffix and dropped

Word History and Origins

Origin of mosque¹

C14: earlier mosquee, from Old French via Italian moschea, ultimately from Arabic masjid temple, place of prostration

Example Sentences

Following eye-grabbing rock crystal carvings, gilded paintings, elegant blown-glass mosque lamps, priestly robes woven with sparkly silver and gold threads, a huge Byzantine chandelier and more, a large embossed and engraved altar front nearly steals the show.

From Los Angeles Times

Mrs Ahmed said her husband and Muhammad had been upstairs preparing to go to the mosque on the afternoon when the blaze broke out, but when she came upstairs she saw flames in a mirror reflection.

From BBC

Other religions across the Western isles include Catholic, particularly in the southern isles including Barra, and there is a mosque in Stornoway.

From BBC

Second, it is also one of the holiest places in Islam; for centuries it has been the site of the sacred Al-Aqsa Mosque.

From Slate

Filion was arrested in January in California on Florida state charges arising from a May 2023 threat he made to carry out a mass shooting at Masjid Al Hayy, a mosque in Sanford, Fla.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chapel
• church
• holy place
• house of worship
• place of worship
• sanctuary
• shrine
• synagogue