avatar

Meaning

Noun

• the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
• The physical embodiment of an idea or concept; a personification.
• A digital representation of a person or being; often, it can take on any of various forms, as a participant chooses. e.g. 3D, animated, photo, sketch of a person or a person's alter ego, sometimes used in a virtual world or virtual chat room.

Origin

• Attested 1784, borrowed from Indic अवतार / اوتار, from Sanskrit अवतार, a compound of अव and the vṛddhi-stem of the root तरति.
• In computing use, saw some use in 1980s videos games – 1985 online role-playing game Habitat by Lucasfilm Games (today LucasArts), by Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, later versions of the Ultima series (following religious use in 1985 Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar), and 1989 pen and paper role-playing game Shadowrun. Popularized by the 1992 novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.