Kilo Lingo

Line drawing of moskeo
Coloured illustration of moskeo
#2506 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

mosque

Word origin

Through French mosquee and Italian moschea from Arabic masjid, a place of prostration, from the verb sajada, to bow down. Every European form of the word goes back to that same Arabic noun.

Origin
Arabic, through French
Root
masjid
English cognates
mosque

Examples

.

The mosque stands in the centre of the town.

.

In the town there is both a church and a mosque.

.

In front of the mosque the people left their shoes.

A is the place of worship of islamo. The building is defined by what happens in it rather than by its shape, though the shape is often distinctive: a prayer hall facing Mecca, a miĥrabo niche marking that direction, and frequently a dome and one or more oj, the towers from which the call to prayer is given. Esperanto takes all four words from the international vocabulary, which is what it does with the technical terms of every religion.

The word is neutral and the register is encyclopedic. is what you call the building; o is not a word anybody uses, because the person is an islamano, a Muslim, and membership is of the faith rather than of the building. The parallel set is worth learning together: for a church, sinagogo for a synagogue, for a temple, for a mosque. Only the first of those is built from Esperanto roots, plus --, the place suffix, and the rest are borrowed whole.

Note that is the generic as well as the particular. Literally it is just a place for praying, so it can cover any house of worship when you need a word that does not specify one. In practice speakers use it for a church and reach for the specific term otherwise, and that is the usage to copy.

Where this fits

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

Esperanto · Free printables

moskeo: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "moskeo" (mosque): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 51.