Definition of Avatar

1. Noun. A new personification of a familiar idea. "The very avatar of cunning"

Exact synonyms: Embodiment, Incarnation
Generic synonyms: Personification
Specialized synonyms: Deification, Reincarnation
Derivative terms: Incarnate, Incarnate

2. Noun. The manifestation of a Hindu deity (especially Vishnu) in human or superhuman or animal form. "The Buddha is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu"
Generic synonyms: Hindu Deity
Specialized synonyms: Jagannath, Jagannatha, Jagganath, Juggernaut, Kalki, Krishna, Rama

Definition of Avatar

1. n. The descent of a deity to earth, and his incarnation as a man or an animal; -- chiefly associated with the incarnations of Vishnu.

Definition of Avatar

1. Noun. In Hinduism the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu. ¹

2. Noun. The physical embodiment of an idea or concept; a personification. ¹

3. Noun. (computing or gaming) A digital representation or handle of a person or being; often, it can take on any of various forms, as a participant chooses. i.e. 3D, animated, photo, sketch ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Avatar

1. the incarnation of a Hindu deity [n -S]

Medical Definition of Avatar

1. 1. 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. Origin: Skr. Avatara descent; ava from + root t to cross, pass over. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Avatar

avarices
avaricious
avariciously
avariciousness
avaritia
avarous
avas
avascular
avascular necroses
avascular necrosis
avascularities
avascularity
avascularization
avast
avatar (current term)
avatarhood
avatars
avaunce
avaunt
avaunted
avaunting
avauntour
avauntours
avaunts
ave
avel
aveled
aveling
avellan

Literary usage of Avatar

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The History of Hindostan: Its Arts, and Its Sciences, as Connected with the by Thomas Maurice (1795)
"... or Fish avatar—the Vara, or Boar avatar—the ... or Tortoise avatar—successively detailed.—All have immediate Reference to the Deluge of Noah. ..."

2. Handy-book of Literary Curiosities by William Shepard Walsh (1892)
"Nay, he was a familiar figure in Macaulay even before his avatar as a New Zealander. He had already been utilized in no less than three places. ..."

3. The Imperial Gazetteer of India by Sir William Wilson Hunter (1886)
"... or boar avatar, covered with the same panoply of sitting figures as that at Khandwa. The date 1346 AD appears on an image of Siva in the same building. ..."

4. Melomaniacs by James Huneker (1902)
"avatar Somewhere ; in desolate wind-swept space, In Twilight-land — in No-man's land — Two hurrying shapes met face to face And bade each other stand. ..."

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