English
avatar
1784, borrowed from Hindi अवतार or from Urdu اوتار, both borrowed from Sanskrit अवतार, a compound of अव and the vṛddhi-stem of the root √तॄ.

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 1992 novel Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.

Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˌæv.əˈtɑː/, /ˈæv.ə.tɑː/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈæv.ə.tɑɹ/
Noun

avatar (plural avatars)

  1. (Hinduism) the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
  2. The physical embodiment of an idea or concept; a personification.
    • 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Dedication”, in Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, Limited., OCLC 1056292939 ↗, pages v–vi ↗:
      And honest Alan, who was a grim fire-eater in his day, has in this new avatar no more desperate purpose than to steal some young gentleman's attention from his {{w
  3. (computing or video games) 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.
    • 1992 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash
      The people are pieces of software called avatars. They are the audiovisual bodies that people use to communicate with each other in the Metaverse.
Synonyms
  • s digital representation profile picture, user pic
Translations Translations Translations

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