stupa means A Buddhist monument used to house relics of the Buddha or others, especially dome-shaped monuments in the Indian style. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 82 out of 100.
stupa is pronounced /ˈstuːpə/.
Why “stupa” is a great word
STUPA — [Noun] A hemispherical or mound-like Buddhist monument, built to enshrine sacred relics and to serve as a focal point for meditation and veneration. Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्तूप (stūpa, 'heap, topknot, funeral mound'). Doublet of tope. First recorded in English 1875–80. Unlike a pagoda, which is a multi-storied, often ornate tower, or a shrine, a general-purpose holy place, a stupa is a specific, symbolic reliquary whose very form embodies a cosmic diagram. It is the stark, whitewashed dome rising from a Himalayan plateau, the pilgrim's measured circumambulation in the dust, and the silent geometry of a mandala made stone—architecture not as shelter, but as a permanent compass needle pointing toward the void from which form arises.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Sanskrit स्तूप (stūpa). Doublet of tope.
noun
- A Buddhist monument used to house relics of the Buddha or others, especially dome-shaped monuments in the Indian style.“He mounded so much honey on the top of the buns that they looked like miniature stupas.”
- A stupe (medicated cloth or sponge).