Etymology

Borrowing from Sanskrit वीर ‎(vīrá, “man; hero”) +‎ -డు ‎(-ḍu), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *wīrás, from Proto-Indo-European *wiHrós. Cognates include Latin vir, Lithuanian výras, Old Irish fer, Old Norse verr, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂 ‎(waír), Ossetian ир ‎(ir, “Ossetians”) and Old English wer (English were-).