In the Metaverse context an avatar is a 3D representation of its human user. It doesn’t need to be a complete replica of it’s owner, it can be any person, character, animal, etc… but it is the virtual embodiment of it’s user and what others see when interacting with its owner.
Historically the word derives from a Sanskrit word for “descent” which referred to the descent to earth of a deity, the incarnation of Vishnu or another Hindu deity.
Chip Morningstar coined the term avatar to be an ‘online persona’ in Lucasfilm’s online multiplayer game, Habitat circa 1986, which he co-developed with F. Randall Farmer.
