From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
pagoda
n 1: an Asian temple; usually a pyramidal tower with an upward
curving roof
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Pagoda \Pa*go"da\, n. [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.
[1913 Webster]
2. An idol. [R.] --Brande & C.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]