[citation needed] The word vāyu is sometimes used generically in the sense of the physical air or wind.
[2] It is also popular in Ethiopia and quite familiar in India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea.
In the Vedic scriptures, Vayu is an important deity and is closely associated with Indra, the king of gods.
[6] Sometimes the word vāyu, which is more generally used in the sense of the physical air or wind, is used as a synonym for prāna.
[7] Vāta, an additional name for the deity Vayu, is the root of vātāvaranam, the Sanskrit and Hindi term for 'atmosphere'.