vatan.
/ˈvɑːtə/, U.S. /ˈvɑdə/ In Ayurvedic medicine: one of the three humours (or doshas) in the body, made up of the elements air and ether and responsible for movement and activity. Also attributive, esp. designating a person in whom this humour is dominant, or the consequent physiological and psychological dispositions or characteristics. Cf. dosha n.Sources translating the Sanskrit word typically use the term ‘wind’ to refer to this humour.
ΚΠ
1937 Cultural Heritage of India III. 415 The theory of vāyu, pitta, and kapha is not the same as the old..humoral theory of the Greek and Roman physicians who, though they borrowed the idea from Āyurveda, probably failed to grasp the true meaning of the theory.]
1959 C. Dwarkanath Introd. Kāyachikitsā vii. 98 If vāta has become excited and tends to course through pathways other than its own, it may give rise to ātopa or a painful distension of the abdomen.
1978 Adv. in Instructional Psychol. 5 371 There are seven basic types of constitutions and several subtle variations depending on the proportion of the three humors: vata, pitta, and kapha.
1988 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 21 Aug. i. 3/3 A lengthy check-up and evaluation that determines an individual's body constitution, or doshas, called vata, pitta and kapha.
1992 Hindu 13 Sept. (Delhi ed.) (Hindu Mag.) 7/1 Ghee alleviates diseases caused by the aggravation of vata and pitta.
1996 S. Lavery et al. Hamlyn Encycl. Complementary Health 185/2 In Ayurvedic medicine a practitioner will balance the tridoshas and use panchakarma for balancing the vatha.
1997 S. Godagama Handbk. Ayurveda 31/1 Vata people are quick to learn but often do not retain their recently acquired knowledge.
2000 PS Nov. 149/1 How are your doshas? If like Jade Jagger, Madonna and Demi Moore, you're a fan of Ayurveda,..you'll know that keeping the three doshas (vata, pitta and kapha) in balance is the essence of wellbeing.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1959