pagoda Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an Asian temple; usually a pyramidal tower with an upward curving roof

WordNet

Pa*go"da noun
Etymology
Pg. pagoda, pagode, fr.Hind. & Per. but-kadah a house of idols, or abode of God; Per. but an idol + kadah a house, a temple.
Definitions
  1. A term by which Europeans designate religious temples and tower-like buildings of the Hindoos and Buddhists of India, Farther India, China, and Japan, -- usually but not always, devoted to idol worship.
  2. An idol. R. Brande & C.
  3. Prob. so named from the image of a pagoda or a deity (cf. Skr. bhagavat holy, divine) stamped on it. A gold or silver coin, of various kinds and values, formerly current in India. The Madras gold pagoda was worth about three and a half rupees.

Webster 1913