mosque
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of mosque
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
Compare meaning
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Explanation
The mosque is the traditional Muslim place of worship. Architecturally, it often features a minaret, or onion-shaped dome, on top. Mosque stems from the Arabic word masjid, meaning "temple" or "place of worship." This building is very important religiously and politically, and can be a modest structure or an architectural masterpiece, such as the Great Mosque of Córdoba in Spain. Muslims, or practitioners of Islam, come together here and pray in rows facing in the direction of the holy city of Mecca.
Vocabulary lists containing mosque
World Religions
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Introductory
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The Middle East and Central Asia - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The nearby Sunni al-Kantari Mosque took the opposite approach, opening its doors and providing supplies to Shias sheltering at a neighboring Sunni school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
"The war in Iran has affected the entire world. Nobody wants wars or harm to countries and peoples," he told AFP news agency as he left Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
And it leaves out so much: the English and Irish who built East London; the docks that made East London an early “melting pot”; unique aspects of postwar reconstruction such as the East London Mosque.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
Amir Ali Mirjafari was accused of setting fire to the Gholhak Grand Mosque and also of working with the Israeli espionage agency Mossad, the judiciary's Mizan news agency reported.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
I was not only forbidden to talk with the press, I was not even to teach in my own Mosque Seven.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
