Added 5 October 2026
avatar
/ˌæv.əˈtɑː(ɹ)/ noun
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about avatar at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
- A representation within a dimension of an entity that exists outside of that dimension. One which serves to act in place of or on behalf of the entity; a simulacrum. The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially an incarnation or personification. One which serves as the means through which the entity interacts with its environment; a player character or host. One which serves as the identifying token for the entity within the dimension. A graphical representation of a user or persona; used in reference to any digital environment, but especially nonmetaversal ones.
- One which serves to act in place of or on behalf of the entity; a simulacrum. The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially an incarnation or personification.
Origin
Borrowed from Hindustani अवतार (avtār) / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, down”) and the vṛddhi-stem of the root तॄ (tṝ, “to cross”) (whence तरति (tarati)). First attested in c. 1784 in The Hindu Wife or The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones. The computing sense was first attested in video games in the 1980s, such as the online roleplaying game Habitat (1985) by Lucasfilm Games (today LucasArts), later versions of the Ultima series, following religious use in Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar (1985), and the pen and paper role-playing game Shadowrun (1989).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)