Origin: Avatar is originally a Sanskrit word that got absorbed into the English language unaltered. The word has connections to the Hindu philosophy which believes that each life form is an incarnation of God. Hindu philosophy believes each Atman (soul) is indestructible and takes a rebirth depending on its Karma during the previous birth. Each rebirth is an Avatar in a different form. . As for the current definition we may say: Avatar is a temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity such as a human being; A representation of a person or thing in computers, networks etc. which can be changed at will to suit the moods and conveniences.

1) "avatar 1784, "descent of a Hindu deity," from Skt. avatarana "descent" (of a deity to the earth in incarnate form), from ava- "down" + base of tarati "(he) crosses over." In computer use, it seems to trace to the novel "Snowcrash" (1992) by Neal Stephenson." Source and further information: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=avatar&searchmode=none 2) "Etymology From Hindustani अवतार / اوتار (avatār), from Sanskrit अवतार (ava-tāra, “descent of a deity from a heaven”), a compound of अव (ava, “off, away, down”) and the vá¹›ddhi-stem of the root √tṝ (“to pass across or over”)." "Noun avatar (plural avatars) 1. In Hinduism the incarnation of a deity, particularly Vishnu. 2. The physical embodiment of an idea or concept; a personification. 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson, dedicatory letter to Kidnapped [contrasting the historical Alan Breac with his incarnation in the novel]. And honest Alan, who was a grim fire-eater in his day, has in this new avatar no more desperate purpose than to steal some young gentleman's attention from his Ovid... 3. (computing) A digital representation of a person or being. As used in online communities such as Second Life. 1992 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash The people are pieces of software called avatars. They are the audiovisual bodies that people use to communicate with each other in the Metaverse. 1986 Habitat, video game published by Lucasfilms. Cited as the original source of this term in this context under the acknowledgments for Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash." Source and further information: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/avatar 3) "In Hinduism, Avatar or Avatara (Devanagari अवतार, IAST avatāra, the Sanskrit for "descent" (viz., from heaven to earth, from the verbal root tṝ "to cross over")) usually implies a deliberate descent from higher spiritual realms to lower realms of existence for special purposes, often translated into English as incarnation. Avatars that are of importance are mainly those of the Supreme Being which are plenary and marked with superhuman qualities. Other types of descents are limited expansions of Ishvara, and some that are descents of lesser empowered divinities. The term is used primarily in Hinduism for descents of Vishnu whom Vaishnava Hindus (one of the largest branches of Hinduism) worship as the Supreme God, a distinctive feature of Vaishnavism. While Shiva and Ganesha are also described as descending in the form of avatars, with the Ganesha Purana and the Mudgala Purana detailing Ganesha's avatars specifically, the avatars of Vishnu carry a greater theological prominence than those of Shiva or Ganesha and upon examination relevant passages are directly imitative of the Vaishnava avatara lists." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar