Origin of 'mosque'

How did the Arabic word "MASJEED" become "Mosque" in English?

During the period of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula (Andalucia or present day Spain and Portugal), the Arabic word MASJEED was written in the Spanish language as MEZQUITA (pronunciation: MEZ-KEE-TAH). It went from Spanish to Italian as MOSCHEA (pronunciation: MOS-CHIA), from Italian to Middle French (the French language as written and spoken c. 1400-c.1600) as "Mosquée", and from French to English as MOSQUE. The word MOSQUE was first used in English in 1717 CE.

Moderator History_Islam group, January 21, 2003.