AVATAR • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Avatar

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/ˈævətˌɑr/ Listen

noun

Avatar n.

(Hindu Myth.) The descent of a deity to earth, and his incarnation as a man or an animal; chiefly associated with the incarnations of Vishnu.

An incarnation, embodiment or personification of a principle, quality, or attitude; used of people, mostly in a positive sense as a manifestation of a behavior or character worthy of admiration. "Martha Stewart, the home-and-hearth avatar whose products are now available at Kmart stores, is making upscale design touches like 200-thread-count cotton bed sheets something that most every American can aspire to."

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Etymology of 'Avatar'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Avatar" Quotes from Famous Books

... quoth I to myself. "I know a publication called Punch very well, but I never heard of a performance so named. I'll go in and see it. Who knows but it may be an avatar[1] of the Editor of that illustrious periodical, who condescends to discard his dread incognito for the nonce, in order to exhibit himself, for one night only, to the eyes and understandings of ...

— Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 1, Complete • Various

... the Franks. There was some heart, too, in the manner in which they gesticulated and declaimed; and I have little doubt but that they were in earnest—especially if any of these happened to have friends or relations down that way, who had been roused out of house and home by the Gallic Avatar. When they were tired with singing, or perhaps presumed that they had therewith tired us, they took to playing the fool. Not merely in a general sense, in which they may be said to have been so engaged ...

— Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 380, June, 1847 • Various

... people working on virtual reality and {cyberspace} interfaces, an "avatar" is an icon or representation of a user in a shared virtual reality. The term is sometimes used on {MUD}s. 2. [CMU, Tektronix] {root}, {superuser}. There are quite a few Unix machines on which the name of the superuser ...

— The Jargon File, Version 4.0.0

... a frank man, and frankness never offends me. Has anybody put you out of conceit with the book? . . . Tell me frankly and I will drink your health in Romany. Or would the appearance of the Bible on the first of October interfere with the avatar, first or second, of some very wonderful lion or Divinity, to whom George Borrow, who is NEITHER, must of course give place? Be frank with me, my dear Sir, and I will drink your health in Romany ...

— The Life of George Borrow • Herbert Jenkins

... know all that can be known about the life and teaching of our Lord, even though they are not prepared to accept his atonement as their salvation. The same fact is true among the common people. There are not a few who believe that the tenth—that is, the coming—incarnation of Vishnu (Kalki avatar) refers to Christ. A Hindu Saivite devotee told me once that they proposed soon to place in their monastery an image of Christ (as they had one of Vishnu) and thus render to Him worship in common with the others. I am confident that Hindus, all but unanimously, would, ...

— India's Problem Krishna or Christ • John P. Jones

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