As a deity name
Name 290 of the Hanuman Sahasranāma — Rasvin Samhita / Brahmanda Purana, as taught by Lord Ram / Sages
Name 338 of the Hanuman Sahasranāma — Rasvin Samhita / Brahmanda Purana, as taught by Lord Ram / Sages
Name 45 of the Surya Sahasranāma — Bhavishya Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
Name 648 of the Surya Sahasranāma — Bhavishya Purana, as taught by Lord Brahma / Sages
As a Hindi name
वायु · noun · feminine
हवा । वात · वायु देवता । पवन देवता (को॰) · प्राणवायु । जीवनवायु भो पाँच प्रकार कहा का है—प्राण, अपान, समान, व्यान, उदान — Śabdasāgara
वायु · vāyu · s.m.
Air, wind — Platts (1884), digital edition courtesy DSAL, University of Chicago, p. 1178
वायु · masculine
Vayu, the god of wind in Hindu and Vedic religion. A primary deity, father of Bhima and the spiritual father of Lord Hanuman.; a male given name, Vayu, from Sanskrit
वायु · feminine
air
a Hindi word, a tatsama: the Sanskrit word borrowed unchanged into Hindi वायु — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
“Learned borrowing from Sanskrit वायु (vāyu).” — per Wiktionary’s etymology record
1. vāyu m. (fr. √ 2. vā) wind, air (as one of the 5 elements; in MBh. 7 winds are reckoned), RV. &c. &c.
the god of the wind (often associated with Indra in the Ṛg-veda, as Vāta [q.v.] with Parjanya, but although of equal rank with Indra, not occupying so prominent a position; in the Puruṣasūkta he is said to have sprung form the breath of Puruṣa, and elsewhere is described as the son-in-law of Tvaṣṭṛ; be is said to move in a shining car drawn by a pair of red or purple horses or by several teams consisting of ninety-nine or a hundred or even a thousand horses [cf. ni-yut]; he is often made to occupy the same chariot with Indra, and in conjunction with him honoured with the first draught of the Soma libation; he is rarely connected with the Maruts, although in i, 134, 4, he is said to have begotten them from the rivers of heaven; he is regent of the Nakṣatra Svāti and north-west quarter See loka-pāla), ib.
As a Sanskrit word
Meaning
wind, air (as one of the 5 elements; in 7 winds are reckoned), &c. &c.
Scripturally attested Verified derivationMultiple readings (5)Why this matches what you typed
The spelling you confirmed, वायु, is itself a dictionary headword — no grammatical transformation stands between what you typed and the meaning above.
Dictionary citations
1. vāyu m. (fr. √ 2. vā) wind, air (as one of the 5 elements; in MBh. 7 winds are reckoned), RV. &c. &c.
the god of the wind (often associated with Indra in the Ṛg-veda, as Vāta [q.v.] with Parjanya, but although of equal rank with Indra, not occupying so prominent a position; in the Puruṣasūkta he is said to have sprung form the breath of Puruṣa, and elsewhere is described as the son-in-law of Tvaṣṭṛ; be is said to move in a shining car drawn by a pair of red or purple horses or by several teams consisting of ninety-nine or a hundred or even a thousand horses [cf. ni-yut]; he is often made to occupy the same chariot with Indra, and in conjunction with him honoured with the first draught of the Soma libation; he is rarely connected with the Maruts, although in i, 134, 4, he is said to have begotten them from the rivers of heaven; he is regent of the Nakṣatra Svāti and north-west quarter See loka-pāla), ib.
breathing, breath, VPrāt.; ĪśUp.
the wind of the body, a vital air (of which 5 are reckoned, viz. prāṇa, apāna, samāna, udāna, and vyāna; or nāga, kūrma, kṛkara, devadatta, and dhanaṃ-jaya), Hariv.; Sāṃkhyak.; Vedāntas.
(in medicine) the windy humour or any morbid affection of it, Suśr.
Alternative readings
More than one analysis survives full verification. That ambiguity is real, so we show every reading rather than pick one silently.
Caveats
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