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meta
1[ met-uh ]
adjective
- pertaining to or noting a story, conversation, character, etc., that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features, often in the form of parody:
A movie about making a movie is just so meta—especially when the actors criticize the acting.
- pertaining to or noting an abstract, high-level analysis or commentary, especially one that consciously references something of its own type.
noun
- a consciously and playfully self-referential story, conversation, etc.:
That dialogue was an example of meta at its best.
- an abstract, high-level analysis or commentary:
writing a meta to explain the character’s motivation.
verb (used without object)
- to analyze or comment on something in a meta way:
I spend more time metaing about the show than actually watching it.
meta
2[ mee-tuh ]
noun
plural metae
- (in ancient Rome) a column or post, or a group of columns or posts, placed at each end of a racetrack to mark the turning places.
meta
3[ met-uh ]
adjective
Chemistry.
- pertaining to or occupying two positions (1, 3) in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom.
meta
4[ met-uh ]
noun
Slang.
- a shortened form of metamour.
Meta
5[ mee-tuh ]
noun
- a female given name.
meta-
6- a prefix appearing in loanwords from Greek, with the meanings “after,†“along with,†“beyond,†“among,†“behind,†and productive in English on the Greek model:
metacarpus; metagenesis.
- a prefix added to the name of a subject and designating another subject that analyzes the original one but at a more abstract, higher level:
metaphilosophy; metalinguistics.
- a prefix added to the name of something that consciously references or comments upon its own subject or features:
a meta-painting of an artist painting a canvas.
- Chemistry.
meta-
1prefix
- indicating change, alteration, or alternation
metamorphosis
metabolism
- (of an academic discipline, esp philosophy) concerned with the concepts and results of the named discipline See also metatheory
metamathematics
meta-ethics
- occurring or situated behind or after
metaphase
meta-cresol
metadinitrobenzene
- denoting an isomer, polymer, or compound related to a specified compound (often differing from similar compounds that are prefixed by para- )
metaldehyde
- denoting an oxyacid that is a lower hydrated form of the anhydride or a salt of such an acid Compare ortho-
metaphosphoric acid
Meta
2/ ˈmeɪtə; ˈmeta /
noun
- a river in Colombia, rising in the Andes and flowing northeast and east, forming part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela, to join the Orinoco River. Length: about 1000 km (620 miles)
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins
Origin of meta1
First recorded in 2010–15; adjective and noun use of meta- ( def )
Origin of meta2
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin ³¾Å§³Ù²¹ “cone, turning postâ€
Origin of meta4
First recorded in 2010–15
Origin of meta5
From Greek, prefix and preposition; cognate with Old English mid “w¾±³Ù³ó,†German mit, Gothic mith
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins
Origin of meta1
Greek, from meta with, after, between, among. Compare Old English mid, mith with, Old Norse meth with, between
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