PAGODA

pagoda

(noun) an Asian temple; usually a pyramidal tower with an upward curving roof

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

pagoda (plural pagodas)

A religious building in South and Southeast Asia, especially a multi-storey tower erected as a Hindu or Buddhist temple. [from 16th c.]

(now, rare, usually in form pagod) An image or carving of a god in South and Southeast Asia; an idol. [from 16th c.]

(now, historical) A unit of currency, a coin made of gold or half gold, issued by various dynasties in medieval southern India. [from 16th c.]

An ornamental structure imitating the design of the religious building, erected in a park or garden. [from 18th c.]

(rare) A pagoda sleeve. [from 19th c.]

Source: Wiktionary


Pa*go"da, n. Etym: [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.]

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. Etym: [Prob. so named from the image of a pagoda or a deity (cf. Skr. bhagavat holy, divine) stamped on it.]

Definition: 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 January 2025

MEGALITH

(noun) memorial consisting of a very large stone forming part of a prehistoric structure (especially in western Europe)


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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