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Where does the word "avatar" come from? It comes from Sanskrit avatara, and was adopted directly into English (1700s-1800s).
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Where does the word "avatar" come from? It comes from Sanskrit avatara, and was adopted directly into English (1700s-1800s).
Avatar’s story begins in Sanskrit: avatara meant “the descent of a deity to earth.” Literally "descent", the earthly incarnation of a deity. It reached English by 1700s-1800s as avatar. A descent of a Hindu god, especially Vishnu, to Earth; first recorded in 1784 in the writing of Sir William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal; computer 'avatars' date from the 1980s. Today, avatar means a digital representation of a person, or an embodiment of a concept or deity.
- Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient avatara "the descent of a deity to earth", literally "descent", the earthly incarnation of a deity.
- Stage 2 · English · 1700s-1800s avatar "an incarnation of a deity", a descent of a Hindu god, especially Vishnu, to Earth; first recorded in 1784 in the writing of Sir William Jones, founder of the Asiatic Society of Bengal; computer 'avatars' date from the 1980s.