English
avatar
Avatar comes from Sanskrit अवतार ‘descent of a deity from a heaven’, from तार ‘carrying across’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEतॄtṝ‘to cross’
- Sanskrit, derivedc. 1500–500 BCEतारtāra‘carrying across’
- Sanskrit, derivedc. 1500–500 BCEअवतारavatāra‘descent of a deity from a heaven’
- Englishearliest quotation 1784avatar
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₂-‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’reconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEतॄtṝ‘to cross’
- Sanskrit, derivedc. 1500–500 BCEतारtāra‘carrying across’
- Sanskrit, derivedc. 1500–500 BCEअवतारavatāra‘descent of a deity from a heaven’
- Englishearliest quotation 1784avatar
Earliest quotation: 1784, Raj Lakshi Debi [William Jones, The Hindu Wife or The Enchanted Fruit: “Fish, Boar, Snake, Lion [footnote] The four first Avatars,…”
first attested First attested in c. 1784 (as stated in the etymology)
The story
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.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- ‘to cross over, pass through, overcome’
through, enter, trans, thorough, tram, tranquillity, torus, très, tardy, sarai, 20 more
Today it means
noun An incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₂- / avatar