ETYM Portu. pagoda, pagode, fromHind. and Per. but-kadah a house of idols, or abode of God; Per. but an idol + kadah a house, a temple.
An Asian temple; usually a pyramidal tower with an upward curving roof.
Buddhist structure common in China, Japan, and Korea, built to contain a relic or sutra (collection of recorded Buddhist dialogues and discourses). Pagodas have three, five, or seven stories (in exceptional cases more), crowned by a tall spire (sorin). There is generally no room inside, so that a pagoda is essentially just a stack of roofs, not a functioning building. Deriving from the Indian stupa, the pagoda came to resemble a Chinese watchtower; the shape also has symbolic meaning.