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Sanskrit avatāra 'a crossing down' is a god's descent to earth in bodily form, like Vishnu as Krishna; English took it in the 1780s, and 1980s video games made it a player's on-screen body, the sense that has since gone round the world.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From Sanskrit to Bengali

From Sanskrit to Tamil

From Sanskrit to French

From English to American English

From American English to German

From American English to Japanese

From American English to Modern Hebrew

200 CESanskrit

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

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