meta

English

Etymology 1

Adjective sense 1 is a back-formation from meta- (prefix).

Adjective sense 2 is derived from noun sense 1.

The noun senses are clippings of various terms beginning with meta (prefix).

Folk etymology for noun sense 1 also suggests an acronym for most effective/efficient tactic available.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtə/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɛtə/, [ˈmɛɾə]
Rhymes: -ɛtə

Noun

meta (plural metas)

(video games) Clipping of metagame.
1. (by extension, countable, Internet slang) An informal but widely adopted practice in a given field; a de facto standard.
(informal) Clipping of metaoidioplasty.
(informal) Clipping of metamour.
(fandom slang) Clipping of metanalysis: metanalysis or metacommentary focused on media, fandom, or related topics, typically presented as an essay or dialogue.
- 2014, Jay Schnorrer, "Adding to Narration and The Johnlock Conspiracy – The Meaning of Digital Media for BBC's Sherlock", paper submitted to Freie Universität Berlin (link):
  Many metas on Tumblr incorporate GIFs of scenes they are referencing as well as screencaps.
- 2018, Sarah Leiser, "Throne of Fans: Examining the Roles of Feminism, Platform and Community in an Online Fandom", thesis submitted to the University of Denver, page 84:
  Fans create their own stories and media representation through fan fiction. They challenge the feminism in the [Sarah J. Maas] books through discussions and metas.
- 2020, Elizabeth Minkel, quoted in "Under the Radar: A Conversation about Tumblr in the Public Sphere", in A Tumblr Book: Platform and Cultures (eds. Allison McCracken, Alexander Cho, Louisa Stein, and Indira Neill Hoch), page 64:
  It wasn’t until I dug into post-season-3 Sherlock meta in January of 2014 that I started to encounter "the Discourse."
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:meta.

Adjective

meta (comparative more meta, superlative most meta)

(informal) Self-referential; structured analogously (structured by relationships), but at a higher level.
(video games) Prominent in the metagame; effective and frequently used in competitive gameplay.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Latin mēta.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtə/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmiːtə/, [ˈmiːɾə]
Rhymes: -iːtə

Noun

meta (plural metas or metae)

Boundary marker.
(historical) Either of the conical columns at each end of an Ancient Roman circus.

Anagrams

maté, team, meat, mate, Tame, ATEM, AEMT, Atem, -mate, tame, Team, Tema

Basque

Noun

meta inan

heap

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈmɛ.tə]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈme.ta]

Noun

meta f (plural metes)

(sports) finish line
(sports) goal, goalpost
Synonym: porteria
goal, aim, objective
Synonyms: fi, objectiu

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmɛta]
Rhymes: -ɛta
Hyphenation: me‧ta

Etymology 1

Derived from Latin mēta.

Noun

meta f

frontier, goal, objective, ambition
Synonym: cíl
(softball, baseball) base

Declension

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

meta

masculine singular present transgressive of mést

References

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse meta, from Proto-Germanic *metaną, from Proto-Indo-European *med-.

Verb

meta (third person singular past indicative metti or metaði, third person plural past indicative mett or metað, supine mett or metað)

to measure, esteem, consider

Conjugation

Finnish

Etymology

Clipping of metamfetamiini

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmetɑ/, [ˈme̞t̪ɑ̝]
Rhymes: -etɑ
Hyphenation^(key): me‧ta

Noun

meta (colloquial)

meth, methamphetamine

Declension

Galician

Verb

meta

inflection of meter:
1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
2. third-person singular imperative

Hungarian

Etymology

From English meta.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmɛtɒ]
Hyphenation: me‧ta

Adjective

meta (comparative metább, superlative legmetább)

(informal) meta (self-referential)

Declension

Icelandic

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɛːta/
Rhymes: -ɛːta

Etymology 1

From Old Norse meta, from Proto-Germanic *metaną.

Verb

meta (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative mat, third-person plural past indicative mátu, supine metið)

to measure
to assess
to appreciate, to esteem, to consider to be of worth

Conjugation

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

meta

indefinite genitive plural of met

Indonesian

Alternative forms

menta

Etymology

From Sanskrit मत्त (matta, “mad, drunken”). Compare to Balinese ᬫᬢ᭄ᬢ (mata, “furious”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /abonəmɛn/
Hyphenation: mê‧ta

Adjective

mêta

(obsolete) mad
Synonym: mengamuk
(obsolete) drunken
Synonym: mabuk

Italian

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta. Doublet of meda.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/
Rhymes: -ɛta
Hyphenation: mè‧ta

Noun

meta f (plural mete)

destination
Synonyms: arrivo, destinazione
(figurative) aim, goal, end
Synonyms: scopo, intenzione, fine
(sports) a score
1. (rugby) try
2. (soccer) goal
3. (ultimate frisbee) point
(Ancient Rome) meta (either of the conical columns at each end of a Roman circus)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈme.ta/
Rhymes: -eta
Hyphenation: mé‧ta

Noun

meta f (plural mete)

pile of straw
Synonym: mucchio
haystack
dung (of a farm animal)
Synonym: sterco

Descendants

→ Serbo-Croatian: méta

Etymology 3

Clipping of metaldeide.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/
Rhymes: -ɛta
Hyphenation: mè‧ta

Noun

meta m (invariable)

(organic chemistry) metaldehyde

Anagrams

mate, matè, team, tema

Kazukuru

Alternative forms

mata

Noun

meta

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *mētā, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₁- (“to measure”), whence mētior, with which compare the derived mētor.

Cognate with Ancient Greek μῆτις (mêtis), μέτρον (métron), μέτριος (métrios), Old Church Slavonic мѣра (měra); compare also Hungarian mér, Russian ме́ра (méra), Serbo-Croatian mera and mjera, English meal.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmeː.ta/, [ˈmeːt̪ä]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈme.ta/, [ˈmɛːt̪ä]
(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmeː.taː/, [ˈmeːt̪äː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈme.ta/, [ˈmɛːt̪ä]

Noun

mēta f (genitive mētae); first declension

cone, pyramid
turning point, winning post (pillar at each end of the Circus route)
boundary limit
(figuratively) goal, end, limit, turning point

Declension

First-declension noun.

Derived terms

mētor

Related terms

mētior

Descendants

Latvian

Verb

meta

third-person singular/plural past indicative of mest

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmʲæːt̪ɐ]

Verb

mẽta

third-person singular present of mesti
third-person plural present of mesti

Maltese

Alternative forms

mita (dialectal)

Etymology

From Arabic مَتَى (matā).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/

Adverb

meta

when

Conjunction

meta

when; as

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈme.tɑ/

Noun

meta

genitive plural of mete

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *metaną (“to measure”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med-.

Verb

meta (singular past indicative mat, plural past indicative mátu, past participle metinn)

(transitive) to estimate, value
(reflexive, til e-s) to be reckoned as, counted for

Conjugation

Related terms

mjǫtuðr
mætr

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmɛ.ta/
Rhymes: -ɛta
Syllabification: me‧ta
Homophone: meta-

Noun

meta f

(sports) finish line, winning post
Był tak wyczerpany, że ledwo dobiegł do mety. ― He was so tired that he hardly reached the finish line.
goal, end
range, distance
(colloquial) familiar store or restaurant
(colloquial) a place where one can stay for a short while
(colloquial) a place where alcohol is illegally sold or drunk
(bodybuilding slang) methandrostenolone, an anabolic steroid

Declension

Descendants

→ Ukrainian: мета́ (metá)

Portuguese

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta (“turning spot in arena; goal”). Doublet of meda.

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɛtɐ
Hyphenation: me‧ta

Noun

meta f (plural metas)

goal
target

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English meta.

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɛtɐ
Hyphenation: me‧ta

Noun

meta m (uncountable)

(video games) meta

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Alternative forms

mêta (pre-reform spelling)

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -etɐ
Hyphenation: me‧ta

Verb

meta

inflection of meter:
1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
2. third-person singular imperative

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian meta, from Latin mēta.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /měːta/
Hyphenation: me‧ta

Noun

méta f (Cyrillic spelling ме́та)

target

Declension

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *męta.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /méːta/

Noun

mẹ̑ta f

mint (plant)

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmeta/ [ˈme.t̪a]
Rhymes: -eta
Syllabification: me‧ta

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin meta (“turning spot in arena; goal”). Doublet of meda.

Noun

meta f (plural metas)

goal, target
Synonym: objetivo

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Clipping of metanfetamina.

Noun

meta f (plural metas)

(slang) meth
Coordinate terms: hierba, coca

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

meta

inflection of meter:
1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
2. third-person singular imperative

Swahili

Pronunciation

Noun

meta class IX (plural meta class X)

Alternative form of mita

Swedish

Etymology

Probably inherited from Proto-Germanic *maitaną.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmeːˌta/

Verb

meta (present metar, preterite metade, supine metat, imperative meta)

to angle for fish

Conjugation

Related terms

mete
metare
metspö

References

meta in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
meta in Svensk ordbok (SO)
meta in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
meta in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

Anagrams

tame, team, tema

Turkish

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish متاع (mataʿ, “any organ or article of enjoyment, possession, or commerce”), from Arabic مَتَاع (matāʕ, “property, possessions”).

meta

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Adjective

Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Anagrams

Basque

Noun

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Czech

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Declension

Etymology 2

Verb

References

Further reading

Faroese

Etymology

Verb

Conjugation

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Galician

Verb

Hungarian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Icelandic

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Verb

Conjugation

Etymology 2

Noun

Indonesian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Further reading

Italian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Noun

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Noun

Descendants

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Noun

Anagrams

Kazukuru

Alternative forms

Noun

Latin

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms