Meaning

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

originFrom Portuguese pagode (“Hindu temple, Hindu idol, pagoda coin”), from any of various Dravidian languages' words of respectful address to Hindu gods and idols and their temples, including Malayalam പകോതി (pakōti, “Durga temple”), Kannada, and Tamil பகவதி (pakavati, “Durga, Parvati”), possibly corrupted under the influence of Portuguese pagão (“pagan”), all ultimately from Sanskrit भगवती…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0