avatar

See also: Avatar

Languages (11)

English

---

Catalan • Finnish • French • Indonesian • Italian • Portuguese • Romanian • Serbo-Croatian • Spanish • Swedish

---

Page categories

English

WOTD – 2 July 2010

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew

Proto-Indo-Iranian *Háwa

Sanskrit अव (ava)

Proto-Indo-European *terh₂-

Sanskrit तॄ (tṝ)

Sanskrit तार (tāra)

Sanskrit अवतार (avatāra)der.

English avatar

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)). First attested in c. 1784 in The Hindu Wife or The Enchanted Fruit, by William Jones.

The computing sense was first attested in video games in the 1980s, such as the online roleplaying game Habitat (1985) by Lucasfilm Games (today LucasArts), 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). This sense was also popularized by the novel Snow Crash (1992) by Neal Stephenson.

Pronunciation

• (Commonwealth) IPA^(key): /ˌæv.əˈtɑː(ɹ)/, /ˈæv.ə.tɑː(ɹ)/, /-θɑː(ɹ)/
• (Canada, US) IPA^(key): /ˈæv.ə.tɑɹ/
• (South Asia) IPA^(key): /əʋ(ə)t̪ɑr/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: av‧a‧tar
• Homophone: Avatar

Noun

avatar (plural avatars)

1. (Hinduism) An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.

   Alternative form: (rare) avatara

   • 1784, Raj Lakshi Debi [William Jones, pseudonym], The Hindu Wife or The Enchanted Fruit‎^[1], Calcutta, →OCLC, →OL, page 237:

     Fish, Boar, Snake, Lion [footnote] The four first Avatars, or Incarnations of the Divine Spirit.

2. (by extension) A representation within a dimension of an entity that exists outside of that dimension.
   1. One which serves to act in place of or on behalf of the entity; a simulacrum.
      • 2025 July 16, Marcus Mendes, “Grok may be breaking App Store rules with sexualized AI chatbots, and that’s not the only problem”, in 9to5Mac‎^[2]:

        Last year, a 14-year-old boy died by suicide after falling in love with a chatbot from Character.AI. The last thing he did was have a conversation with an AI avatar that, possibly failing to recognize the severity of the situation, reportedly encouraged him to go through with his plan to “join her”.

      • 2013 November 27, Roger Cohen, “The past in our future”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

        Devices now track and record our every move and, whether we like it or not, each one of us will bequeath to posterity a virtual avatar, a digital being whose calls, messages, transactions, loves and losses will live on in a vast, unregulated cyberspace. The afterlife has arrived, at least for our cyberbeings.

        (Can we archive this URL?)

      1. The embodiment of an idea or concept; an instantiation, especially an incarnation or personification.
         • 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 177:

           ...that a new avatar of Mrs. Siddons has appeared at Covent Garden, in the shape of her niece Fanny Kemble...

         • 1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Dedication”, in Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC, 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 Ovid, […]

           Contrasting the historical Allan Breck Stewart with his incarnation in the novel.

   2. One which serves as the means through which the entity interacts with its environment; a player character or host.
      • 1992, Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash, New York: Bantam Books, →ISBN, pages 35–36:

        The people are pieces of software called avatars. They are the audiovisual bodies that people use to communicate with each other in the Metaverse.

   3. One which serves as the identifying token for the entity within the dimension.
      1. A graphical representation of a user or persona; used in reference to any digital environment, but especially nonmetaversal ones.

         Hyponyms: profile picture, pfp; user pic; (dated) picon

         Coordinate term: icon

      2. A character model, used virtually as an emulation of a user or their persona.

         Synonyms: (informal) avi; skin

         • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (science fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Computers: Virtual Intelligence (VI) Codex entry:

           A virtual intelligence is an advanced form of user interface software. VIs use a variety of methods to simulate natural conversation, including an audio interface and an avatar personality to interact with.

Derived terms

• ATLA
• Avatard (offensive)
• avatarfag (offensive)
• avatarhood
• avataric
• avi, avvie, avvy
• brand avatar
• gravatar

Related terms

• Avatar

Descendants

• → Japanese: アバター (abatā), アヴァター (avatā)
• → Macedonian: авата́р (avatár)
• → Russian: авата́р (avatár)
• → Serbo-Croatian: аватар
• → Ukrainian: авата́р (avatár)

Translations

earthly incarnation of a deity

Assamese: অৱতাৰ (owotar) Bengali: অবতার (bn) (obotar) Chinese: Mandarin: 化身 (zh) (huàshēn) Dutch: belichaming (nl) f, avatar (nl) Esperanto: avataro Finnish: avatar (fi), inkarnaatio (fi) French: avatar (fr) m, incarnation (fr) f Georgian: ავატარა (avaṭara) German: Avatar (de) m, Avatara (de) m, Herabkunft f, Inkarnation (de) f Greek: αβατάρα f (avatára) Gujarati: અવતાર ? (avatār) Hindi: अवतार (hi) m (avtār) Hungarian: avatára (hu) Icelanfic: gengill (is) m, sýndarstaðgengill í interneti m Indonesian: avatar, awatara Italian: avatar (it) m, incarnazione (it) f Japanese: 天降 (amakudari), 天下り (ja) (amakudari) Kannada: ಅವತಾರ (kn) (avatāra) Khmer: អវតារ (km) (a’vea’taa) Malayalam: അവതാരം (ml) (avatāraṁ), അവതാർ (avatāṟ) Marathi: अवतार ? (avtār) Odia: ଅବତାର (abatāra) Polish: awatar (pl) m, awatara (pl) f Portuguese: avatar (pt) m Punjabi: ਅਵਤਾਰ (pa) m (avatār) Russian: авата́ра (ru) f (avatára), авата́р (ru) m (avatár), воплоще́ние (ru) n (voploščénije) Sanskrit: अवतार (sa) m (avatāra) Sindhi: اوتار (otār) Spanish: avatar (es) m, encarnación (es) f Swedish: avatar (sv) c Tamil: அவதாரம் (ta) (avatāram) Telugu: అవతారము (te) (avatāramu), అవతారం (te) (avatāraṁ) Thai: อวตาร (th) (à-wá-dtaan) Ukrainian: аватар m (avatar), аватара f (avatara) Urdu: اَوتار m (avtār)

personification or simulacrum

Arabic: أَفَاتَار m (ʔafatār) Chinese: Mandarin: 化身 (zh) (huàshēn) Dutch: verpersoonlijking (nl) Esperanto: avataro Finnish: ruumiillistuma (fi), henkilöitymä (fi), avatar (fi) French: avatar (fr) m, matérialisation (fr) f, personnification (fr) f, allégorie (fr) f Georgian: განსხეულება (gansxeuleba), პერსონიფიკაცია (ṗersonipiḳacia) German: Verkörperung (de) f Greek: ενσάρκωση (el) f (ensárkosi) Hindi: अवतार (hi) m (avtār) Hungarian: inkarnáció (hu), megtestesülés (hu) Japanese: 化身 (ja) (keshin), アバター (abatā) Korean: 아바타 (ko) (abata) Malayalam: അവതാരം (ml) (avatāraṁ) Marathi: अवतार m (avtār) Polish: personifikacja (pl) f, ucieleśnienie (pl) n Portuguese: personificação (pt) f Punjabi: ਅਵਤਾਰ (pa) m (avatār) Russian: воплоще́ние (ru) n (voploščénije), авата́р (ru) m (avatár) Spanish: materialización f, personificación (es) f Thai: บุคคลวัต (th), บุคลาธิษฐาน Ukrainian: втілення n (vtilennja), персоніфікація f (personifikacija)

digital representation of a person or being

Arabic: أَفَاتَار m (ʔafatār) Catalan: avatar (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 紙娃娃 / 纸娃娃 (zhǐwáwá), 頭像 / 头像 (zh) (tóuxiàng) Czech: avatar (cs) m Dutch: avatar (nl) c, (informal) ava c Esperanto: avataro Finnish: hahmo (fi), virtuaalihahmo, avatar (fi) French: avatar (fr) m, emblème (fr) m, symbole (fr) m, photo de profil (fr) f Georgian: ავატარი (avaṭari) German: Avatar (de) m Greek: άβαταρ (el) n (ávatar), αβατάρ (el) n (avatár) Indonesian: avatar Italian: avatar (it) m, emblema (it), simbolo (it) Japanese: アバター (abatā) Korean: 아바타 (ko) (abata) Māori: tuatangata Polish: awatar (pl) m Portuguese: avatar (pt) m Russian: авата́р (ru) m (avatár) Spanish: avatar (es) m, emblema (es), símbolo (es) Swedish: avatar (sv) Thai: อวตาร (th) (à-wá-dtaan), อวทาร์ (à-wá-taa) Turkish: avatar (tr) Ukrainian: аватар m (avatar) Vietnamese: avatar (vi), skin (vi)

See also

• Category:avatar on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons
• avatar on Wikiquote.Wikiquote

Further reading

• “avatar”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “avatar”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “avatar”, in Collins English Dictionary, 2011–present.
• “avatar”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• “avatar”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “avatar, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “avatar”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “avatar”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English, from Sanskrit.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [ə.βəˈtar]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ə.vəˈtar]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.vaˈtar]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [a.βaˈtar]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

avatar m (plural avatars)

1. (religion) avatar
2. (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

1. avatar (earthly incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu)
2. (rare) avatar (physical embodiment of an idea or concept)

   Synonym: ruumiillistuma

3. (rare) avatar (digital representation of a person or being)

   Synonyms: hahmo, virtuaalihahmo

Declension

Inflection of avatar (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative	avatar	avatarit
genitive	avatarin	avatarien
partitive	avataria	avatareja
illative	avatariin	avatareihin
	singular	plural
nominative	avatar	avatarit
accusative	nom.	avatar	avatarit
gen.	avatarin
genitive	avatarin	avatarien
partitive	avataria	avatareja
inessive	avatarissa	avatareissa
elative	avatarista	avatareista
illative	avatariin	avatareihin
adessive	avatarilla	avatareilla
ablative	avatarilta	avatareilta
allative	avatarille	avatareille
essive	avatarina	avatareina
translative	avatariksi	avatareiksi
abessive	avataritta	avatareitta
instructive	—	avatarein
comitative	See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of avatar (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative avatarini avatarini accusative nom. avatarini avatarini gen. avatarini genitive avatarini avatarieni partitive avatariani avatarejani inessive avatarissani avatareissani elative avataristani avatareistani illative avatariini avatareihini adessive avatarillani avatareillani ablative avatariltani avatareiltani allative avatarilleni avatareilleni essive avatarinani avatareinani translative avatarikseni avatareikseni abessive avatarittani avatareittani instructive — — comitative — avatareineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative avatarisi avatarisi accusative nom. avatarisi avatarisi gen. avatarisi genitive avatarisi avatariesi partitive avatariasi avatarejasi inessive avatarissasi avatareissasi elative avataristasi avatareistasi illative avatariisi avatareihisi adessive avatarillasi avatareillasi ablative avatariltasi avatareiltasi allative avatarillesi avatareillesi essive avatarinasi avatareinasi translative avatariksesi avatareiksesi abessive avatarittasi avatareittasi instructive — — comitative — avatareinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative avatarimme avatarimme accusative nom. avatarimme avatarimme gen. avatarimme genitive avatarimme avatariemme partitive avatariamme avatarejamme inessive avatarissamme avatareissamme elative avataristamme avatareistamme illative avatariimme avatareihimme adessive avatarillamme avatareillamme ablative avatariltamme avatareiltamme allative avatarillemme avatareillemme essive avatarinamme avatareinamme translative avatariksemme avatareiksemme abessive avatarittamme avatareittamme instructive — — comitative — avatareinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative avatarinne avatarinne accusative nom. avatarinne avatarinne gen. avatarinne genitive avatarinne avatarienne partitive avatarianne avatarejanne inessive avatarissanne avatareissanne elative avataristanne avatareistanne illative avatariinne avatareihinne adessive avatarillanne avatareillanne ablative avatariltanne avatareiltanne allative avatarillenne avatareillenne essive avatarinanne avatareinanne translative avatariksenne avatareiksenne abessive avatarittanne avatareittanne instructive — — comitative — avatareinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative avatarinsa avatarinsa accusative nom. avatarinsa avatarinsa gen. avatarinsa genitive avatarinsa avatariensa partitive avatariaan avatariansa avatarejaan avatarejansa inessive avatarissaan avatarissansa avatareissaan avatareissansa elative avataristaan avataristansa avatareistaan avatareistansa illative avatariinsa avatareihinsa adessive avatarillaan avatarillansa avatareillaan avatareillansa ablative avatariltaan avatariltansa avatareiltaan avatareiltansa allative avatarilleen avatarillensa avatareilleen avatareillensa essive avatarinaan avatarinansa avatareinaan avatareinansa translative avatarikseen avatariksensa avatareikseen avatareiksensa abessive avatarittaan avatarittansa avatareittaan avatareittansa instructive — — comitative — avatareineen avatareinensa

Further reading

• “avatar”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[4] (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/

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

• Homophone: avatars
• Hyphenation: ava‧tar

Noun

avatar m (plural avatars)

1. (Hinduism) avatar
2. (computing) avatar
3. (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)

1. (Hinduism) avatar (the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu)

   Synonym: awatara

2. (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)

1. 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

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaʁ/ [a.vaˈtah]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaʁ/ [a.vaˈtah]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaɾ/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaʁ/ [a.vaˈtaχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaɻ/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈtaɾ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /a.baˈtaɾ/ [a.βaˈtaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /a.vaˈta.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: a‧va‧tar

Noun

avatar m (plural avatares)

2. (Hinduism) avatar
4. (computing, video games) avatar

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)

1. avatar

Declension

	singular	plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	avatar	avatarul	avataruri	avatarurile
genitive-dative	avatar	avatarului	avataruri	avatarurilor
vocative	avatarule	avatarurilor

Serbo-Croatian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aʋǎtaːr/
• Hyphenation: a‧va‧tar

Noun

avàtār m anim (Cyrillic spelling ава̀та̄р)

1. avatar

Declension

Declension of avatar

	singular	plural
nominative	avàtār	avatari
genitive	avatára	avatara
dative	avataru	avatarima
accusative	avatara	avatare
vocative	avatare	avatari
locative	avataru	avatarima
instrumental	avatarom	avatarima

Spanish

Alternative forms

• avatara

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /abaˈtaɾ/ [a.β̞aˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: a‧va‧tar

Noun

avatar m (plural avatares)

1. avatar
2. (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

1. (Hinduism) an avatar
2. an avatar (representing a user on an internet forum, a player in a video game, or the like)

Declension

Declension of avatar

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	avatar	avatars
definite	avataren	avatarens
plural	indefinite	avatarer	avatarers
definite	avatarerna	avatarernas

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)