avatar

/ˌævəˈtɑr/

/ˈævətɑ/

Other forms: avatars

You might know this word from video games, where you create an avatar to represent you on screen. An avatar is something that embodies something else.

In Hinduism the different gods can take many different forms, and when they took human forms, the human was their avatar. Eventually, the word avatar came to mean the embodiment not just of a god, but also of any abstract idea. If you have a cool head, you might see yourself as the avatar of reasonableness in a fight. Video game avatars are sort of a reverse of the first meaning––a physical entity (you) form becomes something abstract (a video game guy).

Definitions of avatar

1. noun

   the manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form
   “the Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu”

   examples:

   Jagannatha

   an avatar of Vishnu

   Kalki

   the 10th and last incarnation of Vishnu

   Krishna

   8th and most important avatar of Vishnu; incarnated as a handsome young man playing a flute

   Rama

   avatar of Vishnu whose name is synonymous with God; any of three incarnations: Ramachandra or Parashurama or Balarama

   type of:

   Hindu deity

   a deity worshipped by the Hindus
2. noun

   a new personification of a familiar idea
   “the very avatar of cunning”

   synonyms: embodiment, incarnation

   types:

   deification

   an embodiment of the qualities of a god

   reincarnation

   embodiment in a new form (especially the reappearance or a person in another form)

   type of:

   personification

   a person who represents an abstract quality
3. noun

   an electronic image representing a computer user
   type of:

   representation

   a creation that is a visual or tangible rendering of someone or something