meta-prefix

Etymology: < ancient Greek μετα- (before a vowel μετ- , μεθ- ), use as combining form of the preposition μετά ‘with’, ‘after’, ‘between’, probably ultimately < the same Indo-European base as mid prep.¹ Compare Mycenaean Greek me-ta ‘together with’, which is perhaps the original sense in Greek. In ancient Greek and Hellenistic Greek μετα- is combined chiefly with verbs and verbal derivatives principally to express notions of sharing, action in common, pursuit, quest, and, above all, change (of place, order, condition, or nature), in the last sense frequently corresponding to classical Latin words in trans- trans- prefix. Occasionally μετα- represents the preposition μετά in syntactic combination, with the sense ‘after or behind’, as in μετάϕρενον (see metaphrenum n.).Attested in loans < Latin (from Old English onwards: see e.g. metaplasm n.¹, metaphysic n.¹, and metacarpus n.), Greek (from at least the first half of the 16th cent.: see e.g. metasyncrisis n., metabasis n., and metalepsis n.), French (from at least the 18th cent.: see e.g. metacentre n.), German (from at least the first half of the 19th cent.: see e.g. metameric adj.¹ and metanotum n.), and Danish (first half of the 20th cent. in metamict adj.). Formations in English are found from the first half of the 17th cent; see e.g. metatheology n., metapolitical adj. Compare French méta- (formations in which are found from at least the 17th cent.), German meta- (formations in which are found from at least the second half of the 18th cent.). N.E.D. (1906) notes that in ‘modern formations’ (i.e. formations in modern languages) ‘the prefix is employed in ways not strictly in accordance with Greek analogies’. The various uses of the prefix are therefore arranged here in chronological order of the earliest attested English formation, rather than in relation to the uses of the prefix in ancient Greek. The earliest words in English beginning with meta- are all derived ultimately from Greek (frequently via Latin or French); in most the idea conveyed by meta- is that of ‘change’ (see e.g. metamorphosis n., metaplasm n.¹, and metaphor n.). English formations with this sense (see sense 1) are rare before the 19th cent. (see e.g. metaphysis n.¹). By analogy with the sense development of meta- in metaphysics (see discussion at that entry metaphysics n.), English formations with meta- meaning ‘beyond’ (see sense 2) are found sporadically from the first half of the 17th cent. (see e.g. metatheology n., metapolitical adj., and metapolitics n.). These formations became common for scientific terms from the 19th cent. onwards (the earliest example appears to be metamathematical adj.), and have become more widespread with the development of new academic disciplines, especially the social sciences, predominantly with the sense ‘dealing with second-order questions’. Use of meta- in the sense ‘situated behind’ (see sense 3) is chiefly restricted to scientific and technical terms, and is attested in loans from post-classical Latin (early 17th cent.: see metaphrenum n.), German (from the first half of the 19th cent. onwards: see e.g. metanotum n., metapterygium n.), and French (from the second half of the 19th cent.: see e.g. metafacial adj.). English formations appear from the early nineteenth century onwards in this sense, and seem to be found earliest in entomological terms (see e.g. metathorax n.). Use of meta- in sense 4a is attested from the first half of the 19th cent. (see note at sense 4a; and compare meta-acid n., metaphosphate n., and metaphosphoric adj.) and quickly passed into French and German, from which specific examples were then borrowed into English (see e.g. metagallic adj., metameconic adj. and metalbumin n.). Formations in English using meta- in the sense ‘situated between’ (see sense 5) are found sporadically from mid 19th cent. The prefix is used in mineralogical terms from the mid 19th cent. (see sense 6). The general sense ‘later, after’ is largely restricted to scientific terms from the late 19th and early 20th cent. (see senses 7 and 9; but perhaps compare earlier metatype n., and see note at that entry). In sense 7, the earliest examples appear to be metanephros n. and metasperm n., which follow terms in German and scientific Latin respectively, and the English formation metembryo n. The prefix is used (after e.g. metamorphic adj.) to form geological terms (see sense 8) from the later 19th cent. In sense 9 the idea of a subsequent development was probably reinforced by metastasis n. 2a. Where the second element begins with a vowel, or h followed by a vowel, either the final a of meta- is lost, as happens for all words which are ultimately from Greek and for some modern formations (e.g. metepimeron n., methylosis n.), or it is retained, with a hyphen being usual in the written form (e.g. meta-analysis n., meta-history n.). In cases where the a of meta- is lost, the pronunciation of the first syllable of the resulting word is /mɛt/, or (before an h) /mɛθ/. The position of the stress differs between compounds of meta- in accordance with the general stress patterns of English. Contrastive stress may also give rise contextually to primary stress on the first syllable of the prefix in compounds where the stress ordinarily falls elsewhere.