The word "avatar" seems to be, well, the avatar of trendy writers these days. Most commonly, it refers to a god-like hero. Writes political columnist David Ignatius, for instance, "To understand why Obama needs tougher scrutiny now, we need only recall his political avatar, President John F. Kennedy."

The popularity of "avatar" has undoubtedly been boosted in recent years by cyber-speak, where it denotes the onscreen image you create of yourself for an interactive game. A TV science fiction series titled "Avatar" premiered in 2005, and a movie with the same name is set for release next year.

"Avatar" derives from the Sanskrit "avatarah," meaning "descent of a god from heaven." In Hindu philosophy, it refers to the incarnation of a divine being, especially Vishnu, in human or animal form.

That's the sense Robert Frost used in the poem "One More Brevity," which describes a stray Dalmatian as an earthly incarnation of Sirius, the dog star. He was, wrote Frost, "not a meteorite, but an avatar."

"Avatar" entered English during the early 1700s, and soon its meaning expanded to include the embodiment of a concept or quality ("Lindbergh's flight was the very avatar of courage"), a temporary manifestation of an ongoing phenomenon ("McCarthyism was an avatar of Cold War paranoia") or a revered role model, as used by Ignatius to describe JFK.

Another trendy term these days is "turnkey." A current TV commercial for a home re-modeler, for instance, touts his "turnkey service." "Turnkey" refers to any business product or service that provides an entire package ready for immediate use, such as in a computer sold with built-in software.

The term may have originated in real estate where a "turnkey home" is a house that's ready to move into as soon as you turn the key. Others suggest it began as a reference to starting a car; just turn the key and vrrrooooom!

And let's not forget the Dickensian term "turnkey" for a prison guard. It's one of those delightful verb-object words mischievously coined for unsavory people: "sawbones" (doctor), "pickpocket," "killjoy," "scofflaw."

In fact, "turnkey" is alive and well in today's prison slang, where it means a guard who just does his job without taking any noticeable interest in prison life — in other words, the very avatar of indifference.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Conn., invites your language sightings. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via e-mail to Wordguy@aol.com or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045. To find out more about Rob Kyff and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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