

For example a "metafiction" story might have a character realize that he's in a story. In art, a "meta" work is one that refers to itself. Since not all subreddits are big enough for their own meta subreddit, sometimes "meta" posts are made meant to discuss how things are run in the subreddit by moderators and the community. For example, if you want to talk about how r/TIL is run you can post in their meta subreddit. For example if someone makes a reference to another comment in the post it is said to be "meta." In subreddits, a "meta" subreddit deals with talk about the subreddit.

In comments, a "meta" comment refers to a comment that refers to another comment in the post. This can fluctuate because of patches that change balance and just because champions that are counters to the strongest then become strong themselves. For example, in League of Legends the "meta" is a phrase that means whatever champions are strongest at the moment. In games, the "meta" is referring to what are the strongest strategies currently. "Meta" is a prefix meaning "referring to itself." This has evolved into a variety of meanings that are used today. On September 10th, 2015, a Reddit thread posted to the /r/OutOfTheLoop subreddit asked the question, “What the fuck does meta mean?” The top reply from Redditor johnadreams said: On June 4th, 2012, MobaFire user IOWNEDYA posted the term (seen below) in a forum thread that explained the meaning as it applies to League of Legends. Within the gaming community, particularly with MOBAs (multiplayer online battle arenas), it appears frequently in use around the early 2010s alongside the acronym, Most Effective Tactic Available. The exact first use of the term appearing online in its modern sense is unknown, but according to ’s definition of the word, “meta” took root in gaming communities sometime during the 1990s to 2000s, and “metagaming” was used in the late 1990s by Dungeons & Dragons players to refer to “an in-game character unfairly using information gathered outside of the game world by their player.” SpreadĪnother common expression in early usage is “that’s so meta,” which was discussed on December 25th, 2005, in a New York Times article, titled “What's the Meta?”

Before the internet adapted the term, meta was primarily used in scientific terms as a prefix, such as “metaphysics.”

The word “meta” originally stems from the Ancient Greeks, who used it to imply “beyond” or “after” (similar to the Latin “post-” prefix) but in modern language, it is typically used as a prefix to show when something is referring to itself. In gaming, meta is usually intended to explain the optimal build or strategy and is frequently used as shorthand for the acronym “Most Effective Tactic Available.” Although its use is common among esports, MMOs or other competitive multiplayer games, the term commonly appears online in a range of various uses. In informal use of the term found online, meta is used to describe a thing about itself, such as a comment referring to another comment or a meme about memes. Meta, also known as Metagaming, is a slang expression used to describe something that’s self-referencing. That's so meta, meta, metagaming, internet slang, slang, expression, the meta, gaming, video games, term, meta meaning slang, what does meta mean?, meta definition
