 It is in medieval era texts, those composed after the sixth century CE, that the noun version of avatar appears, where it means embodiment of a deity.The idea proliferates thereafter, in the Puranic stories for many deities, and with ideas such as "ansha-avatar" or partial embodiments.The term "avatar", in colloquial use, is also an epithet or a word of reverence for any extraordinary human being who is revered for his or her ideas.