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me⋅ta

1[mee-tuh]
–noun, plural -tae [-tee] .
(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.

Origin:
1570–80; < L mēta cone, turning post

met⋅a

2[met-uh]
–adjective Chemistry.
pertaining to or occupying two positions (1, 3) in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom.
Compare ortho, para 3 .


Origin:
1875–80; independent use of meta-

Me⋅ta

[mee-tuh]
–noun
a female given name.

meta-

1. 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; metalinguistics.
2. Chemistry.
a. (of acids, salts, or their organic derivatives) a prefix denoting the least hydrated of a series: meta-antimonic, HSbO3; meta-antimonous, HSbO2. Compare ortho-, pyro-.
b. a prefix designating the meta position in the benzene ring. Abbreviation: m-. Compare ortho-, para- 1 .
Also, especially before a vowel, met-.


Origin:
< Gk, prefix and prep.; c. OE mid with, G mit, Goth mith
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Me·ta   (mā'tə, mě'tä)   
A river, about 1,102 km (685 mi) long, of northeast Colombia flowing partially along the border with Venezuela.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Main Entry:  meta
Part of Speech:  adj
Definition:  self-referential; referring to itself or its characteristics, esp. as a parody; about
Example:  That book is so meta.
Etymology:  meta 'beyond'
Main Entry:  meta
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  something with refers to itself, esp. in self-parodying manner
Example:  A movie-within-a-movie is an example of meta.
Etymology:  meta 'beyond'
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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Word Origin & History

meta- 
prefix meaning 1. "after, behind," 2. "changed, altered," 3. "higher, beyond," from Gk. meta (prep.) "in the midst of, among, with, after," from PIE *me- "in the middle" (cf. Goth. miþ, O.E. mið "with, together with, among," see mid). Notion of "changing places with" probably led to senses "change of place, order, or nature," which was the principal meaning of the Gk. word when used as a prefix. Third sense, "higher, beyond," is due to misinterpretation of metaphysics (q.v.) as "transcending physical science."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: meta
Pronunciation: 'met-&
Function: adjective
: relating to, characterized by, or being two positions in the benzene ring that are separatedby one carbon atom

Main Entry: meta-
Variant: or met-
Function: prefix
1 : isomeric with or otherwise closely related to <metaldehyde>
2 : involving substitution at or characterized by two positions in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom —abbreviation m- <meta-xylene orm-xylene>; —compare ORTH- 2, PARA- 2
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

meta- or met-
pref.

  1. Later in time: metestrus.

  2. At a later stage of development: metanephros.

  3. Situated behind: metacarpus.

  4. Change; transformation: metachromatism.

  5. Alternation: metagenesis.

  6. Beyond; transcending; more comprehensive: metapsychology.

  7. At a higher state of development: metazoan.

  8. Having undergone metamorphosis: metamyelocyte.

  9. Derivative or related chemical substance: metaprotein.


  10. Abbr. m- Of or relating to one of three possible isomers of a benzene ring with two attached chemical groups, in which the carbon atoms with attached groups are separated by one unsubstituted carbon atom. Usually used in italic: meta-dibromobenzene.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Computing Dictionary

META language
The assembly language for the CYBER 200, developed at CDC ca 1977.
[CDC Pub 60256020].
[The Jargon File]
(1994-11-16)

meta philosophy
/me't*/ or /may't*/ or (Commonwealth) /mee't*/ A prefix meaning one level of description higher. If X is some concept then meta-X is data about, or processes operating on, X.
For example, a metasyntax is syntax for specifying syntax, metalanguage is a language used to discuss language, meta-data is data about data, and meta-reasoning is reasoning about reasoning.
This is difficult to explain briefly, but much hacker humour turns on deliberate confusion between meta-levels.
[The Jargon File]
(1999-04-06)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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