==Etymology==One proposed etymology is from the southern Chinese pronunciation of eight cornered tower,"Pa-Ko-Ta" [八角塔], and reinforced by the name of a famous pagoda encountered by many early European visitors to China, the "Pa-Zhou-Ta" Pagoda, standing just south of Canton (Guangzhou) at the Whampoa Anchorage.
V Vietnamu in Kambodži je, zaradi francoskega prevoda, angleški izraz "pagoda" bolj splošen izraz, ki se nanaša na kraj čaščenja, čeprav pagoda ni točna beseda za opis budističnega "vihara".