mosque
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
Mosque, church, temple, and synagogue all refer to buildings used for religious worship, but each word is tied to a specific faith. A mosque (from Arabic masjid, meaning 'place of prostration') is the place of worship for followers of Islam. A church is the Christian place of worship, usually featuring a cross and a spire or bell tower. A temple is most often associated with Hindu, Buddhist, or Sikh worship, though the word can be used more broadly. A synagogue is the Jewish house of worship. Calling a mosque a 'church' is a common mistake — the two buildings serve different religious communities and have different features (mosques often have a minaret, churches a bell tower). If you are visiting Istanbul, for example, you would say 'I went inside the Blue Mosque,' not 'I went inside the Blue Church.'
Common collocations
Nouns
- mosque prayer
- mosque school
- mosque leader
- mosque community
Phrases
- go to the mosque
- attend the mosque
- build a mosque
- visit a mosque
Prepositions
- at the mosque
- to the mosque
- from the mosque
- in the mosque
- near the mosque
Etymology
The word mosque comes from the French mosquée, which came from Italian moschea, from the Arabic masjid (مَسْجِد), meaning 'a place of prostration' — where people bow down to pray. The Arabic word comes from the root sajada (سَجَدَ), meaning 'to bow down' or 'to prostrate oneself.'