Sprite

Alternate spelling: Spright; in Celtic mythology, Spriggan.

A sprite is a type of fairy. Derived from the same word as spirit (spiritus), it acquired the primary sense of a disembodied spirit, hence, a supernatural being.

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A sprite is an atmospheric electrical discharge associated with lightning.

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In video game terms, a sprite is a 2 dimensional figure that represents some object in a game. For instance, sprites may be used to represent aircraft, missiles, or even people. On the Atari line of home computers, sprites were known as player-missile graphics.

On some systems, such as the Amiga and the Commodore 64, a sprite was a specific hardware implemented concept - a small image stored separately in RAM superimposed on the regular screen as part of the DAC process, allowing for much easier (faster) and more robust animation (sprite movements were by nature atomical with regards to screen refresh). Some modern graphics adapters use a hardware sprite to draw the mouse cursor.

See also BOB ("blitter object").

Nowadays, most games use polygons instead of sprites, which enables them to model better 3D effects and realistic movement. However, sprites are still widely-used in handheld systems and by amateur game makers. Modern 3D graphics programmers sometimes use the term "sprite" to refer specifically to a flat object with an animated texture.

see also sprite comic

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Sprite is the brandname of a lemon-lime flavored soft drink produced by the Coca-Cola Corporation in the US and UK. Its chief competitor is the Pepsi-produced soft drink 7-Up.

In 2003, Coca-Cola released a new version, Sprite Remix, adding tropical flavors to the formula.

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The Middle English word for spirit. Today, it is considered archaic to use the word in this context.

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Sprite was a computer operating system developed at the University of California, Berkeley