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mosque: msg#00012

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Subject: mosque

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The Word of the Day for November 13 is:

mosque \MAHSK\ noun
: a building used for public worship by Muslims

Example sentence:
On the last day of Ramadan, Fatimah and her family attended
prayer services at a local mosque.

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.







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