| source : web1913 |
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.
| source : wn |
avatar
n 1: ny new embodiment of a familiar idea; "the incarnation of
evil"; "the very avatar of cunning" [syn: {embodiment},
{incarnation}]
2: 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"
| source : jargon |
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 {MUD}s. 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.
| source : foldoc |
avatar
1. <chat, virtual reality> An {image} representing a user in a
multi-user {virtual reality} (or VR-like, in the case of
{Palace}) space.
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}.
[{Jargon File}]
(1997-09-14)
| source : vera |
AVATAR
Advanced Video Attribute Terminal Assembler and Recreator (BBS)