avatar

== English == === Alternative forms === avatara (rare) === Etymology === First use appears c. 1784, in The Hindu Wife; or, The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones. 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)). In the computing sense, some use appeared in video games in the 1980s, such as the online roleplaying game Habitat (1985) by Lucasfilm Games (today LucasArts), by Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, 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). Also popularized by the novel Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson. === Pronunciation === (Indic) IPA(key): /əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/ (Commonwealth) IPA(key): /ˌæv.əˈtɑː(ɹ)/, /ˈæv.ə.tɑː(ɹ)/, /-θɑː(ɹ)/ (Canada, US) IPA(key): /ˈæv.ə.tɑɹ/ Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ) Hyphenation: av‧a‧tar === Noun === avatar (plural avatars) (Hinduism) An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu. The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially a personification or incarnation. (Internet, video games) A complex and dynamic digital representation of a person or being in the form of a digital model, used online as a simulation or emulation of a person, or as a person's online alter ego, in a virtual world, virtual chat room, or metaverse. (Internet, video games) A simple and static or nearly static digital representation of a person or being in the form of a small digital object, used online as a simulacrum or token of a person or that person's online alter ego, in any digital environment but especially in nonvirtual, nonmetaversal ones. Hyponyms: profile picture, pfp, user pic Coordinate term: icon ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Japanese: アバター → Macedonian: авата́р (avatár) → Russian: авата́р (avatár) → Serbo-Croatian: аватар → Ukrainian: авата́р (avatár) ==== Translations ==== === See also === Category:Avatar on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons === References === == Catalan == === Etymology === Borrowed from English, from Sanskrit. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Central) [ə.βəˈtar] IPA(key): (Balearic) [ə.vəˈtar] IPA(key): (Valencia) [a.vaˈtar] === Noun === avatar m (plural avatars) (religion) avatar (computer games) avatar === Anagrams === avarat, tarava == Finnish == === Etymology === From English avatar, from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɑʋɑtɑr/, [ˈɑ̝ʋɑ̝t̪ɑ̝r] Rhymes: -ɑʋɑtɑr Syllabification(key): a‧va‧tar Hyphenation(key): ava‧tar === Noun === avatar avatar (earthly incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu) (rare) avatar (physical embodiment of an idea or concept) Synonym: ruumiillistuma (rare) avatar (digital representation of a person or being) Synonyms: hahmo, virtuaalihahmo ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “avatar”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎[3] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023 == French == === Etymology === From Hindustani अवतार / 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 तरति (√tṝ, “to cross”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /a.va.taʁ/ Homophone: avatars Hyphenation: ava‧tar === Noun === avatar m (plural avatars) (Hinduism) avatar (computing) avatar (plural tantum) misadventures, incidents Synonyms: aléa, vicissitude, péripétie, bouleversement === Further reading === “avatar”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Indonesian == === Etymology === From English avatar, from Hindustani अवतार / اوتار (avtār), from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”). Doublet of avatara and awatara. === Pronunciation === (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /aˈvatar/ [aˈfa.t̪ar] Rhymes: -atar Syllabification: a‧va‧tar === Noun === avatar (plural avatar-avatar) (Hinduism) avatar (the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu) Synonym: awatara (computing) avatar (a digital representation of a person or being) === Further reading === “avatar”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016 == Italian == === Alternative forms === avatara === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English avatar. === Noun === avatar m (invariable) avatar (all senses) === Anagrams === tarava, varata == Portuguese == === Etymology === Borrowed from French avatar, from Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”). The computing sense comes from English. === Pronunciation === Hyphenation: a‧va‧tar === Noun === avatar m (plural avatares) (Hinduism) avatar (computing, video games) avatar === References === === Further reading === “avatar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French avatar. === Noun === avatar n (plural avataruri) avatar ==== Declension ==== == Serbo-Croatian == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /aʋǎtaːr/ Hyphenation: a‧va‧tar === Noun === avàtār m anim (Cyrillic spelling ава̀та̄р) avatar ==== Declension ==== == Spanish == === Alternative forms === avatara === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /abaˈtaɾ/ [a.β̞aˈt̪aɾ] Rhymes: -aɾ Syllabification: a‧va‧tar === Noun === avatar m (plural avatares) avatar (in the plural) vicissitudes, ups and downs Synonyms: vicisitudes, altibajos === Further reading === “avatar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 == Swedish == === Noun === avatar c (Hinduism) an avatar an avatar (representing a user on an internet forum, a player in a video game, or the like) ==== Declension ==== === References === “avatar”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish) “avatar”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish) “avatar”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)