minaret
UK /ˈmɪnəɹɛt/ · US /mɪnəˈɹɛt/ noun
Forms minarets
- noun The tall slender tower of an Islamic mosque, from which the muezzin recites the adhan (call to prayer).
Etymology
First attested in 1682. Borrowed from French minaret, from Ottoman Turkish مناره (Turkish minare), from Arabic مَنَارَة (manāra, “lighthouse, minaret”). See note on pronunciations and borrowing of words with ـَة (-a). From the same Proto-Semitic root *nūr- (“light”) as menorah.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A slender, lofty tower attached to a mosque and surrounded by one or more projecting balconies, from which the summon to prayer is cried by the muezzin.
Etymology [Sp. minarete, Ar. manarat lamp, lantern, lighthouse, turret, fr. nar to shine.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “minaret”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details