| 释义 |
avatar|ɑːvəˈtɑː(r), æ-, ˈævətɑː(r)|
[ad. Skr. avatāra descent, f. ava down + t'r-, tar-, to pass over.]
1. Hindu Myth. The descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form.
1784Sir W. Jones in Asiat. Res. I. 234 The ten Avatárs or descents of the deity, in his capacity of Preserver. 1858Beveridge Hist. India II. iv. ii. 28 The fifth avatar, called Varuna, because in it Vishnu assumed the form of a dwarf.
2. Manifestation in human form; incarnation.
1815Scott Paul's Lett. (1839) 325 A third avatar of this singular emanation of the Evil Principle [Bonaparte]. 1878R. Sayler in N. Amer. Rev. CXXVI. 94 McClellan was..the very god of war, in his latest avatar.
3. Manifestation or presentation to the world as a ruling power or object of worship.
1859Masson Milton I. 226 The avatar of Mathematics had not begun. Ibid. 447 Glad that the avatar of Donne, as an intermediate power between Spenser and Milton, was so brief and partial. 1883Harper's Mag. Mar. 541/1 The Baireuth festivals..the completest and most characteristic avatars of art our century can shew.
4. loosely, Manifestation; display; phase.
1850L. Hunt Autobiog. ii. (1860) 36 She ended with enjoying, and even abetting, this new avatar of the Church militant. 1880L. Stephen Pope ii. 29 Wit and sense are but different avatars of the same spirit.
▸ Computing and Science Fiction. A graphical representation of a person or character in a computer-generated environment, esp. one which represents a user in an interactive game or other setting, and which can move about in its surroundings and interact with other characters.
1986RUN Aug. 24/1 Once a human being enters Habitat, he or she takes on the visual form of an Avatar, and for all intents and purposes becomes one of these new-world beings. 1992N. Stephenson Snow Crash ix. 71 Then the avatar is gone, expertly drop-kicked out the front door. 1996Entertainm. Weekly 3 May 80 Once you install the software and pay a $20 fee, you enter the main Palace site and are handed a generic smiley-face avatar. 2008Wall St. Jrnl. 18 Apr. w12/2 Teleporting—a Second Life specialty where avatars warp to different places within the world. |