Camii

Camii is a term associated with mosques in Turkish-language and Ottoman Turkish contexts. In modern Turkish, the standard word for mosque is cami. The form camii appears chiefly in historical or formal transliterations of Arabic and Persian into Turkish, and in compound names following the Ottoman practice of attaching a suffix that marks definiteness or linkage, as in Cami-i Kebir, meaning the Grand Mosque.

In Ottoman texts and inscriptions, camii commonly occurs in phrases such as Cami-i Kebir (the Grand Mosque) and Cami-i Cedid (the New Mosque). These forms reflect Arabic-Persian linguistic influence and the traditional Turkish habit of forming titles with the -i linking element. The usage is largely literary or ceremonial today, though it can still be found in historical documents and architectural studies.

Modern Turkish overwhelmingly uses cami for a mosque, and camii is now mostly encountered in older writings, scholarly discussions of Ottoman architecture, or in the names of historic buildings and inscriptions that preserve older spellings. The distinction is primarily orthographic and historical rather than semantic in contemporary practice.

See also

- Cami

- Mosque

- Ottoman Turkish

- New Mosque (Cami-i Cedid)