'bahut' originates from French, specifically the word 'bahut' (meaning a kind of chest or pack).

'bahut' came into English from French (Old French forms such as 'bauchet' or similar diminutives) and was used in English to refer to a small travel trunk; the form and sense were borrowed from these French words.

Initially it referred to a small wooden chest or packing trunk; in English the meaning has remained largely this sense but the word has become archaic. (In modern French 'bahut' additionally developed senses such as 'school desk' or colloquially 'high school'.)