Literally, a prefix that describes a process or characteristic beyond the normal meaning of the word without the prefix. For example, metaphysics is “beyond physics.” In computing, meta- is usually attached to a word to indicate that the “metaterm” describes, defines, or acts upon objects or concepts of the same type as itself. So, for example, metadata is data about data and a metatool is a tool for working on tools.

City in Missouri (USA); zip code 65058.