prettygoodword

pagoda (puh-GOH-duh) - n., a religious building in South and Southeast Asia, especially a multi-story tower erected as a Hindu or Buddhist temple.

Typically has each successive story slightly smaller than the one below it, and depending on the region style, often has upward curving edges to the roofs of the individual stories. English got the word around 1630 from Portuguese, but after that the trail gets murky. The two main hypotheses are from classical Persian butkada, from but, idol (from Buddha, from Sanskrit buddha, awakened) + kada, temple/dwelling, or from Tamil pagavadi, from Sanskrit Bhagavatī, a goddess, from feminine of bhagavat-, blessed, from bhagaḥ, good fortune.