# 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: /ˈmɛtə/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American) IPA: /ˈmɛtə/, [ˈmɛɾə]
* Rhymes: -ɛtə

#### Noun

meta (plural metas)
* (video games) Clipping of metagame.
    I don't think the character will be part of the meta even with the recent buffs.
** 2022 November 17, Carver Fisher, “League of Legends preseason 13 has made tanks unkillable”, in Dexerto‎:The phrase, “tank meta”, is one that carries a lot of weight when it comes to MOBAs. These metas are generally characterized by tanky, unkillable behemoths dominating the meta and leaving any character that isn’t focused around raw DPS in the dust.
** (by extension, countable, Internet slang) An informal but widely adopted practice in a given field; a de facto standard.
    Each video sharing platform's community has a meta on how long videos should be.
*** 2023 October 27, 29:51 from the start, in Hard Fork‎ (podcast), spoken by Kevin Roose, The New York Times:I remember interviewing PewDiePie a few years ago, and he was sort of telling me about this time where it was like edgy videos were being really rewarded, so everyone was kind of chasing like edgy humor and edgy memes, and sort of trying to figure out where the edge was. And then YouTube changed the meta, and suddenly, it wasn't good to be edgy, you weren't going to make as much money or get as many views.
* (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.
    Suppose you have a genie that grants you three wishes. If you wish for infinite wishes, that is a meta wish.
    Suppose you have a homework task where you need to edit a wiki page and upload a screenshot of this entry underneath the word meta as an example of what meta is.
** 2002, Robert C. Neville, Religion in Late Modernity‎, →ISBN, page 31:[…] in finessing obligations you fail a "meta" kind of obligation.
** 2006, Brendan Vaughan, What Would MacGyver Do?‎, →ISBN, page 186:Besides, I can just hear Vaughan: "Very funny, Stacey, very Charlie Kaufman-esque, very meta, very '97. I can't use it."
** 2021 March 1, Carol Midgley, “McDonald & Dodds review – cheerful escapism and filth-free distraction”, in The Times‎:McDonald & Dodds is back, with episode one so deliberately hammy and meta that, technically, it should have been a complete horlicks. In one scene, when they were all hanging on to the balloon ropes, Mr Bean-like, to stop Jason Watkins flying away, it sort of was.
* (video games) Prominent in the metagame; effective and frequently used in competitive gameplay.
    I don't think the character will be meta even with the recent buffs.

##### Translations
#### See also

* transcendental
* self-aware

### Etymology 2

From Latin mēta.

#### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈmiːtə/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American) IPA: /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: (Central, Balearic) [ˈmɛ.tə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈme.ta]

### Noun

meta f (plural metes)
* (sports) finish line
* (sports) goal, goalpost
    Synonym: porteria
* goal, aim, objective
    Synonyms: fi, objectiu

#### Further reading

* “meta” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [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

* ↑ Jiří Rejzek (2007) “meta”, in Český etymologický slovník (in Czech), Leda

### Further reading

* “meta”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “meta”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## 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

$^1$Only the past participle being declined.

## Finnish
### Etymology

Clipping of metamfetamiini

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmetɑ/, [ˈme̞t̪ɑ̝]
* Rhymes: -etɑ
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

### Noun

meta (colloquial)
* meth, methamphetamine

#### Declension

Possessive forms of meta (Kotus type 9/kala, no gradation) :
first-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
metani
metani
accusative
nom.
metani
metani
gen.
metani
genitive
metani
metojeni metaini $^{rare}$
partitive
metaani
metojani
inessive
metassani
metoissani
elative
metastani
metoistani
illative
metaani
metoihini
adessive
metallani
metoillani
ablative
metaltani
metoiltani
allative
metalleni
metoilleni
essive
metanani
metoinani
translative
metakseni
metoikseni
abessive
metattani
metoittani
instructive
comitative
—metoineni
second-person singular possessor
singular
plural
nominative
metasi
metasi
accusative
nom.
metasi
metasi
gen.
metasi
genitive
metasi
metojesi metaisi $^{rare}$
partitive
metaasi
metojasi
inessive
metassasi
metoissasi
elative
metastasi
metoistasi
illative
metaasi
metoihisi
adessive
metallasi
metoillasi
ablative
metaltasi
metoiltasi
allative
metallesi
metoillesi
essive
metanasi
metoinasi
translative
metaksesi
metoiksesi
abessive
metattasi
metoittasi
instructive
comitative
—metoinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
metamme
metamme
accusative
nom.
metamme
metamme
gen.
metamme
genitive
metamme
metojemme metaimme $^{rare}$
partitive
metaamme
metojamme
inessive
metassamme
metoissamme
elative
metastamme
metoistamme
illative
metaamme
metoihimme
adessive
metallamme
metoillamme
ablative
metaltamme
metoiltamme
allative
metallemme
metoillemme
essive
metanamme
metoinamme
translative
metaksemme
metoiksemme
abessive
metattamme
metoittamme
instructive
comitative
—metoinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular
plural
nominative
metanne
metanne
accusative
nom.
metanne
metanne
gen.
metanne
genitive
metanne
metojenne metainne $^{rare}$
partitive
metaanne
metojanne
inessive
metassanne
metoissanne
elative
metastanne
metoistanne
illative
metaanne
metoihinne
adessive
metallanne
metoillanne
ablative
metaltanne
metoiltanne
allative
metallenne
metoillenne
essive
metananne
metoinanne
translative
metaksenne
metoiksenne
abessive
metattanne
metoittanne
instructive
comitative
—metoinenne
third-person possessor
singular
plural
nominative
metansa
metansa
accusative
nom.
metansa
metansa
gen.
metansa
genitive
metansa
metojensa metainsa $^{rare}$
partitive
metaansa
metojaan metojansa
inessive
metassaan metassansa
metoissaan metoissansa
elative
metastaan metastansa
metoistaan metoistansa
illative
metaansa
metoihinsa
adessive
metallaan metallansa
metoillaan metoillansa
ablative
metaltaan metaltansa
metoiltaan metoiltansa
allative
metalleen metallensa
metoilleen metoillensa
essive
metanaan metanansa
metoinaan metoinansa
translative
metakseen metaksensa
metoikseen metoiksensa
abessive
metattaan metattansa
metoittaan metoittansa
instructive
comitative
—metoineen metoinensa :

## Galician
### Verb

meta
* inflection of meter:
** first/third-person singular present subjunctive
** third-person singular imperative

## Hungarian
### Etymology

From English meta.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmɛtɒ]
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

### Adjective

meta (comparative metább, superlative legmetább)
* (informal) meta (self-referential)

#### Declension
## Icelandic
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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: /abonəmɛn/
* Hyphenation: mê‧ta

### Adjective

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

### Further reading

* “meta” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Italian
### Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta. Doublet of meda.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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
** (rugby) try
** (soccer) goal
** (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: /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: /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
* eye

## 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: /ˈmeː.ta/, [ˈmeːt̪ä]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈme.ta/, [ˈmɛːt̪ä]
* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈmeː.taː/, [ˈmeːt̪äː]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /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
** 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.278:“Hīs ego nec mētās rērum nec tempora pōnō.”“For them, I set no turning points of history, nor time limits.” (Jupiter reassures Venus that he has granted limitless prospects to the Roman people.)

#### Declension

First-declension noun.

#### Derived terms

* mētor

#### Related terms

* mētior

#### Descendants

* Italian: meda
* Old French: mete
** → Middle English: mete
*** English: mete
* Old Galician-Portuguese: meda
** Galician: meda
** Portuguese: meda
* Sicilian: mita
* Spanish: meda
* Borrowings:
** → Belarusian: мэта (meta)
** → Catalan: meta
** → Czech: meta
** → Dutch: meet
** → English: meta
** → Italian: meta
*** → Serbo-Croatian: méta
** → Polish: meta
*** → Ukrainian: мета́ (metá)
** → Portuguese: meta
** → Russian: мета (meta)
** → Slovak: méta
** → Spanish: meta

## Latvian
### Verb

meta
* third-person singular/plural past indicative of mest

## Lithuanian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [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: /ˈmɛ.ta/
* Audio (Gozo):(file)

### Adverb

meta
* when

### Conjunction

meta
* when; as

## Old English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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

#### Related terms

* mjǫtuðr
* mætr

### Further reading

* Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “meta”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

## Polish
### Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin mēta.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɛ.ta/
* Audio:(file)
* 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

#### Descendants

* → Ukrainian: мета́ (metá)

### Further reading

* meta in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
* meta in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology 1

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

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɛ.tɐ/
* Rhymes: -ɛtɐ
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

#### Noun

meta f (plural metas)
* goal
* target

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from English meta.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɛ.tɐ/
* Rhymes: -ɛtɐ
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

#### Noun

meta m (uncountable)
* (video games) meta
** 2020, “Qual o Novo meta do Fortnite – Temporada 6”, in Escola dos Games‎, archived from the original on 14 May 2021:Quando falamos de inventário, alguns itens continuam muito fortes e flexíveis no meta, como por exemplo os arpões. Como as snipers saíram do meta, os jogadores tiveram que trocar um dos utilitários para conseguir tags durante o meio do jogo.(please add an English translation of this quotation)

### Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

#### Alternative forms

* mêta (pre-reform spelling)

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈme.tɐ/
* Rhymes: -etɐ
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

#### Verb

meta
* inflection of meter:
** first/third-person singular present subjunctive
** third-person singular imperative

## Serbo-Croatian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Italian meta, from Latin mēta.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /měːta/
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

### Noun

méta f (Cyrillic spelling ме́та)
* target

#### Declension
### Further reading

* “meta”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

## Slovene
### Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *męta.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /méːta/

### Noun

mẹ̑ta f
* mint (plant)

#### Inflection
### Further reading

* “meta”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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

* línea de meta
* saque de meta

### 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:
** first/third-person singular present subjunctive
** third-person singular imperative

#### Further reading

* “meta”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

## Swahili
### Pronunciation

* Audio (Kenya):(file)

### Noun

meta class IX (plural meta class X)
* Alternative form of mita

## Swedish
### Etymology

Probably inherited from Proto-Germanic *maitaną.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmeːˌta/

### Verb

meta (present metar, preterite metade, supine metat, imperative meta)
* to angle for fish

#### Conjugation

$^1$ Archaic. $^2$ Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

#### Related terms

* mete
* metare
* metspö

#### See also

* bottennapp

### 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”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /meˈtaː/
* Hyphenation: me‧ta

### Noun

meta (definite accusative metayı, plural metalar)
* Commercial goods, merchandise.
    Synonyms: mal, mülk
* (business) capital
    Synonyms: sermaye, anapara

#### Declension

singular
plural
nominative
meta
metalar
definite accusative
metayı
metaları
dative
metaya
metalara
locative
metada
metalarda
ablative
metadan
metalardan
genitive
metanın
metaların
Possessive forms
nominative
singular
plural
1st singular
metam
metalarım
2nd singular
metan
metaların
3rd singular
metası
metaları
1st plural
metamız
metalarımız
2nd plural
metanız
metalarınız
3rd plural
metaları
metaları
definite accusative
singular
plural
1st singular
metamı
metalarımı
2nd singular
metanı
metalarını
3rd singular
metasını
metalarını
1st plural
metamızı
metalarımızı
2nd plural
metanızı
metalarınızı
3rd plural
metalarını
metalarını
dative
singular
plural
1st singular
metama
metalarıma
2nd singular
metana
metalarına
3rd singular
metasına
metalarına
1st plural
metamıza
metalarımıza
2nd plural
metanıza
metalarınıza
3rd plural
metalarına
metalarına
locative
singular
plural
1st singular
metamda
metalarımda
2nd singular
metanda
metalarında
3rd singular
metasında
metalarında
1st plural
metamızda
metalarımızda
2nd plural
metanızda
metalarınızda
3rd plural
metalarında
metalarında
ablative
singular
plural
1st singular
metamdan
metalarımdan
2nd singular
metandan
metalarından
3rd singular
metasından
metalarından
1st plural
metamızdan
metalarımızdan
2nd plural
metanızdan
metalarınızdan
3rd plural
metalarından
metalarından
genitive
singular
plural
1st singular
metamın
metalarımın
2nd singular
metanın
metalarının
3rd singular
metasının
metalarının
1st plural
metamızın
metalarımızın
2nd plural
metanızın
metalarınızın
3rd plural
metalarının
metalarının :

#### Derived terms

* emtia
* matah

#### Related terms

* iş
* takas
* ticaret

### References

* ↑ Redhouse, James W. (1890) “متاع”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎, Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1678
* ↑ Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “meta”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

### Further reading

* “meta”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu
* Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “meta²”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 3172