Etymology

From Proto-Iranian (compare Avestan vā́ta, vātō, Kurdish ba با, Persian and Pashto باد ‎(bâd)), from Proto-Indo-Iranian (compare Sanskrit वात ‎(vā́ta)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥ts ‎(“blowing”), present participle of *h₂weh₁- ‎(“to blow”).