Meta

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈmɛtə/

Definitions

1. Referring to something that is self-referential or about its own category, often in an abstract or higher-level way
2. Denoting a level of abstraction that relates to itself or its own category, while also embodying self-reflection and commentary on the subject matter
3. Concerning itself with its own kind or nature, often used to describe commentary or reflection about itself ; relating to an elevated layer of thought or structure that references its own scope or category

Etymology: The word "meta" as an adjective meaning "about itself" is a back-formation from the prefix "meta-", which means "after" or "beyond" in Greek and, in its modern English use, "self-referential." A back-formation is a word created by removing what looks like an affix from an existing word, so speakers took the prefix and treated it as a standalone adjective. The sense is that a work of art, a text or a thought turns back to examine its own nature, as when a novel comments on the act of writing a novel. The prefix itself goes back to Greek "meta," meaning "with," "after" or "beyond," and it entered English largely through scientific and philosophical coinages. The noun forms of "meta" are clippings of longer words that begin with "meta-," such as "metaphor" or "metadata," which were shortened in casual speech. A folk etymology, popular but false, claims the word stands for "most effective/efficient tactic available," but this is an acronym invented after the fact rather than the source of the word.

Synonyms: self-referential, self-aware