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meta

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.08 sec.

meta

One definition of this Greek word is transcending, or going above and beyond. In the computer field, it defines things that embrace more than the usual. For example, a metafile contains all types of data. Meta-data describes other data. See metafile, metadata and meta tag.

1.(language)META - The assembly language for the CYBER 200, developed at CDC ca 1977.

[CDC Pub 60256020].
2.(philosophy)meta - /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.


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
The carriage stopped near the Meta Sudans; the door was opened, and the young men, eagerly alighting, found themselves opposite a cicerone, who appeared to have sprung up from the ground, so unexpected was his appearance.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas, Alexandre View in context
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