/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. [Jargon File] (1999-04-06)
