'avatar' originates from Sanskrit, specifically the word 'avatāra', where 'ava-' meant 'down' and the root related to 'to cross over' or 'descent'.

'avatar' entered English via Hindi (as 'avatār') and colonial-era writings in the 18th–19th centuries; the word's religious sense was established first and later broadened into secular uses (e.g., embodiment, and in the late 20th century, computer graphics).

Initially, it meant 'divine descent' or an incarnation of a deity, but over time it evolved into a broader sense of 'an embodiment/representation' and later a 'digital persona' in computing.