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avatar - 7 dictionary results
av⋅a⋅tar
[av-uh-tahr, av-uh-tahr] 
–noun
| 1. | Hindu Mythology. the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god. |
| 2. | an embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life. |
| 3. | Computers. a graphical image that represents a person, as on the Internet. |
Origin:
1775–85; < Skt avatāra a passing down, equiv. to ava down + -tāra a passing over
1775–85; < Skt avatāra a passing down, equiv. to ava down + -tāra a passing over
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To avatar
| av·a·tar (āv'ə-tär') n.
[Sanskrit avatāraḥ, descent (of a deity from heaven), avatar : ava, down + tarati, he crosses; see terə-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Avatar
Av`a*tar"\, n. [Skr. avat[^a]ra descent; ava from + root t[.r] to cross, pass over.]1. (Hindoo Myth.) The descent of a deity to earth, and his incarnation as a man or an animal; -- chiefly associated with the incarnations of Vishnu. 2. Incarnation; manifestation as an object of worship or admiration.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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avatar [(av-uh-tahr)]
In Hinduism, a god made visibly present, especially in a human form. The Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu.
Note: By extension, an “avatar” is any new embodiment of an old idea.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
avatar
n. Syn. [in Hindu mythology, the incarnation of a god]1. Among 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 MUDs.
2. [CMU, Tektronix] root, superuser. There are quite a few Unix machines on which the name of the superuser account is `avatar' rather than `root'. This quirk was originated by a CMU hacker who found the terms `root' and `superuser' unimaginative, and thought `avatar' might better impress people with the responsibility they were accepting.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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avatar
1784, from Skt. avatarana "descent" (of a deity to the earth in incarnate form), from ava- "down" + base of tarati "(he) crosses over."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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avatar
1.
2. (CMU, Tektronix) root, superuser. There are quite a few Unix computers on which the name of the superuser account is "avatar" rather than "root". This quirk was originated by a CMU hacker who disliked the term "superuser", and was propagated through an ex-CMU hacker at Tektronix.
[The Jargon File]
(1997-09-14)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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