Main Entry:

av·a·tar

Pronunciation:

\ˈa-və-ˌtär\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Sanskrit avatāraḥ descent, from avatarati he descends, from ava- away + tarati he crosses over — more at ukase, through

Date:

1784

1: the incarnation of a Hindu deity (as Vishnu)2 a: an incarnation in human form b: an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person3: a variant phase or version of a continuing basic entity4: an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer user (as in a computer game)