Explanation of the Term "Mosque"

Dear Readers,
I must retract my earlier claim that "mosque" is a derogatory term for masjid. I read it in the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam". Now don't get fooled by the title of this book. Despite this one mistake, the rest of the book is amazing. Here is my research after googling it. Basically, that book mistakenly claims it as derogatory term. Copied below are the actual origins of the word. Readers, thanks for pushing me to look further into it.
Sincerely,
Shams

Question: There is a book entitled The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam. It discusses within it many things, including the etymology of the word “mosque”. It says that this word is derived from the Spanish word for “mosquito”. It claims that the word was first used during the Christian invasion of Muslim Spain in the 15th century when the forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella boasted they would swat out Muslim prayer houses like so many mosquitoes. Is this true?

Answered by the Scientific Research Committee - IslamToday.net

This etymology is incorrect.

The Spanish word for "mosquito" is mosquito and literally means “little fly”. This is a case where the English language borrowed the word directly from the Spanish.

The word for “fly” in Spanish is mosca, which is derived from the Latin musca. The diminutive suffix “-ito” is attached to it to form the word mosquito or “little fly”.

The Spanish term for “mosque” is mezquita, derived from the old Spanish mesquita. This word was most certainly derived from the Arabic word masjid, which many Arabs then and now pronounce as masgid.

In Spain during the era of Muslim rule – and this was before the time of King Ferdinand – Spanish speakers were using the word mosquito for the insect and the word mesquita for the Muslim place of worship. The two words are not related to one another in any way.

The word “mosque” was introduced into the English language in the late 14th or early 15th century from the French. It comes from the French word mosquée from the old French word mousquaie. The French, in turn, derived the word from the Italian word moschea from moscheta. The Italians got it either directly from the Arabic word masjid or from the old Spanish mesquita.

(http://www.islamtoday.com/fat_archives/show_detail.cfm?q_id=676&main_cat_id=20)

References:

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition; © 2000 Houghton Mifflin Company.
Online Etymology Dictionary, ETYMOLOGY Moo-Muc
http://www.etymonline.com/m8etym.htm

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Second view:

By Khaled Ahmed

In these days of paranoia, one hears Muslims say that the English word "mosque" should be laid aside because it has been derived from "mosquito". Nothing could be farther from the truth.

A reader asked from the wonderful Lahore journal "Renaissance" if the English word mosque was derived insultingly from mosquito. He had read it in a book titled "The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Islam".

The book said that during the Crusades, King Ferdinand of Spain had said that he would swat the Muslims like mosquitoes, and that was the origin of the word mosque, the place where the "mosquitoes" prayed.

As the title suggests the book was a spoof. The definition given there is also a spoof and anyone taking it seriously runs the risk of being an idiot. Adnan Zulfiqar of "Renaissance" gave a very appropriate reply: the word had come from Spanish mezquita meaning mosque and became current long after King Ferdinand had had his day.

The Spanish-Portuguese civilisation that confronted the Arab conquest twisted the Arab words around quite a lot. Spain saw some of the most beautiful mosques being built on its soil. The place was called masjid by the conquerors and was taken as mesquita by the locals, which is mezquita in modern Spanish.

There is something to be said about the way Arabs themselves pronounce the sound "j". We are told that Arabic doesn’t have the "g" sound. We have two versions of the word Gilani. The Arabs will say Jilani. Golan Heights are Jolan Heights in Arabic.

But there are Arabs that naturally convert "j" into "g". For instance, Jemal Nasser is Gemal Nasser in Egypt. How would the Egyptians say masjid? While the spelling remains the same, the word will come out masgid. That’s not difficult to convert into mesquita.

English etymology makes it clear that mosque came into English in the 17th century from Italian moschea and French mosquee. The resemblance with mosquito is accidental. Mosquito came from Spanish as a derivative of mosca (fly).

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_9-2-2003_pg3_7