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meta- definition

meta- (met′ə)

  1. change in position or form, alteration, transposition metathesis, metasomatism
  2. after metapneumonic
  3. behind, at the back metanephros

  4. Etymology: < supposed analogy to metaphysics

    going beyond or higher, transcending: used to form terms designating an area of study whose purpose is to examine the nature, assumptions, structure, etc. of a (specified) field metalinguistics, metacriticism
  5. between metope
  6. Chem.
    1. a polymer of metaldehyde
    2. a derivative of metaprotein
    3. a less hydrated acid or salt metaphosphoric acid
    4. characterized by substitutions in the 1, 3 position in the benzene ring: usually italicized and hyphenated in chemical names meta-aminobenzoic acid
Also (except for sense meta-), before a vowel, met-

Etymology: < Gr meta, along with, after, between, among < IE *meta < base *me-, between > mid

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