Mecca

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See also: mecca, and meččä

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
 Mecca (disambiguation) on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Arabic مَكَّة (Makka) of uncertain etymology. In American place names, in reference to the Arabian city.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Mecca

  1. (sometimes proscribed)
    2. A province of Saudi Arabia.
    4. A large city, the provincial capital of Mecca Province in the in the Hejaz region, Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam, location of the sacred Ka'ba, and to which Muslims are required to make a hajj at least once in their lifetime, if possible.
  2. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A census-designated place in Riverside County, California.
    2. A town in Wabash Township, Parke County, Indiana.
    3. An unincorporated community in Clinton County, Missouri.
    4. A township and unincorporated community in Trumbull County, Ohio.
  3. A surname.
    • 1968, United States. President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, The Seriously Handicapped and the Voluntary Health Agency: Proceedings of a Panel Discussion, Annual Meeting, May 2-3, 1968, page 32:
      MR. HOWE: I would like to ask Mr. Mecca this question : does he think there would be substantial duplication between the agency that he is suggesting, and the current Governors' Committees on Employment of the Handicapped.
      MR. MECCA:  […]
  4. (uncommon) A unisex given name, mostly borne by women.
    • 1912, The Arrow of Pi Beta Phi, page 107:
      Mrs. Mecca Marie Varney and son are successful lecturers and debaters on various topics of current interest, such as suffrage, etc. Her home is in Paw Paw, Mich. Her lectures are managed by her husband, Charles E. Varney.
    • 2020, Born This Way Foundation reporters, Lady Gaga, Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community, Feiwel & Friends, →ISBN:
      Just then, a young boy—named Mecca, as we learned later—arrived at the scene with the flight attendants who had been escorting him to his parents. In the midst of the frantic feeding of the protein bar, Mecca quietly announced:
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Mecca.

Usage notes

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Some Muslims consider the pronunciation shift indicated by English Mecca to be too great, insisting on Makkah or some equivalent transcription of the standard Arabic name.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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Mecca (plural Meccas)

  1. (figuratively, sometimes offensive) Any place considered to be a very important place to visit by people with a particular interest.
    • 1826, “Sketches of the Medical Schools of Scotland”, in The Lancet, volume 11, page 254:
      It was consequently the “Mecca,” the “Delphic Oracle,” the “Vale of Egeria,” to which all studious pilgrims should resort to drink of the pure springs of knowledge; […]
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
      By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.
    • 1981, A Pictorial History of the Republic of China: Its Founding and Development‎[1], volume II, Taipei: Modern China Press, →OCLC, page 558:
      Tsuhu, or Lake Benevolence, is located in Fuhsing District, Taoyuan County, and formed by waters from the Tahan Creek (river). Its two sections of limpid water are enclosed within emerald green hills. When he was alive, the late President often came here as a place of retreat and meditation. It had been for this reason that his casket was moved here for temporary rest. The place has since become a Mecca for people all over the world to come and pay homage to Modern China's greatest leader.
    • 1991, The Economist Newspaper Ltd., The Economist:
      On the other side of the Atlantic, stores in Paris's chic Avenue Montaigne, a mecca for Japanese tourists, said that sales to foreigners had fallen sharply.
    • 1997, John Romano, Muscle Meals, page 14:
      Living in Venice, California and training at the Mecca of bodybuilding, Gold's Gym, I've seen some of the world's most dedicated and hard-training athletes.
    • 2014, Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2015: The Travel Skills Handbook, Avalon Travel, →ISBN, page 705:
      I say how much I like the shabby lounge atmosphere of a ruin pub, and Laura declares that this one, Szimpla Kert (which means “Simple Garden”), is the mecca of ruin pubs.
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Mecca.

Usage notes

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Generalized use of the name of the city of Mecca is offensive to many Muslims.

Alternative forms

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Translations

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Latin

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Arabic مَكَّة (makka).

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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Mecca f sg (genitive Meccae); first declension

  1. (post-Classical) Mecca (Arabic city in modern Saudi Arabia)

Declension

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First-declension noun, with locative, singular only.

singular
nominative Mecca
genitive Meccae
dative Meccae
accusative Meccam
ablative Meccā
vocative Mecca
locative Meccae

Portuguese

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Proper noun

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Mecca f

  1. Archaic spelling of Meca.
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