Avatar

The word avatar, meaning the descent of a Hindu deity to earth in an incarnate or tangible form, came to English in 1784 from Sanskrit avatarana (descent; e.g., the descent of a deity to earth in an incarnate form).
 
Sanskrit avatarana comprises ava- (off, down), from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root au (off, away) + tarata (crossing over), from the PIE root tere (cross over, pass through, overcome). PIE tere is also the root of words such as nectar, nostril, thrill, trans-, trench, trunk, and others.
 
Avatar meaning the concrete embodiment of something abstract is from 1815. The use of avatar in computer technology may have its origins in the 1992 novel, Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson (a book which also made reference to the ‘Metaverse’).
 
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
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