In some of our earliest schooling we learn about metaphors.  Perhaps we even read Kafka’s Metamorphosis (wikipedia).  By college, we look into metaphysics, or know enough about it that we do not want to know more.  Meta, a Greek preposition, is used in several English words to indicate a concept which is an abstraction of another concept (wikipedia).  Yet, today, it seems to have taken on a new life where there is a meta version of most any word or concept you can imagine.  I tested this theory, brainstorming what I thought were ridiculous meta permutations.  Then I looked them up and discovered that all but one of them was actually in use by someone, somewhere.  This is my meta-idiot’s guide to meta.

• meta-analysis –  The basic tenet of a meta-analysis is that there is a common truth behind all conceptually similar scientific studies, but which has been measured with a certain error within individual studies. The aim in meta-analysis then is to use approaches from statistics to derive a pooled estimate closest to the unknown common truth based on how this error is perceived. In essence, all existing methods yield a weighted average from the results of the individual studies and what differs is the manner in which these weights are allocated and also the manner in which the uncertainty is computed around the point estimate thus generated. In addition to providing an estimate of the unknown common truth, meta-analysis has the capacity to contrast results from different studies and identify patterns among study results, sources of disagreement among those results, or other interesting relationships that may come to light in the context of multiple studies. Meta-analysis can be thought of as “conducting research about previous research.” Meta-analysis can only proceed if we are able to identify a common statistical measure that is shared among studies, called the effect size, which has a standard error so that we can proceed with computing a weighted average of that common measure. Such weighting usually takes into consideration the sample sizes of the individual studies, although it can also include other factors, such as study quality. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-analysis
• meta-animation –  Meta-animations are animations that describe how other animations play. They can be found in the ANCS, CHAR, and SAND formats. re:  http://www.metroid2002.com/retromodding/wiki/Meta-Animation
• meta-assessment – ” the evaluation of assessment practice” via https://illinois.edu/blog/view/915/99344
• meta-awareness – ” being consciously aware of your own awareness” via http://www.samatters.com/meta-awareness-situational-awareness/;  1) Experiential suggests consciousness/meta awareness dissociations-the notation that individuals can have an experience (experiential consiousness) without being explicitly aware of their interpretation of the experience (meta awareness).  2) The discovery misattribution-notation that individuals can confuse the experience with the discovering meta-awareness of the prior experience with the discovery memory itself. via http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Meta-awareness
• meta-cognition – is “cognition about cognition”, “thinking about thinking”, or “knowing about knowing”. It comes from the root word “meta“, meaning beyond. It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving. There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition.  via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognition
• meta-collaboration – Collaborative meta-cognition. via http://www.edutopia.org/blog/meta-collaboration-thinking-with-another-lori-desautels
• meta-crawler – aka meta search engine;  A search engine, or software program, that displays results from multiple search engines. via http://www.netlingo.com/dictionary/m.php
• meta-consciousness –  Of or relating to a level of thought that can contemplate the state of being conscious. via http://www.yourdictionary.com/metaconscious;  “Meta-Consciousness” is the state of being in which the border between physical reality and spiritual existence dissolves. It is a place of unity in which thought is manifested into the physical plane at will. Put simply, it is the highest realm of existence in which we, as physical forms, remember our spiritual selves as the only true reality.” via http://www.lifecoachingtransformation.com/uncategorized/what-is-meta-consciousness
• meta-data –  “data that provides information about other data”.[1] Two types of metadata exist: structural metadata and descriptive metadata. Structural metadata is data about the containers of data. Descriptive metadata uses individual instances of application data or the data content. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata
• meta-discussion –  The term meta-discussion means a discussion whose subject is a discussion. Meta-discussion explores such issues as the style of a discussion, its participants, the setting in which the discussion occurs, and the relationship of the discussion to other discussions on the same or different topics. It is one of many terms based on the inferred meaning of the “meta-“ prefix. via  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-discussion
• meta-documentation –  documentation about how to write documentation. via https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/Meta_docs
• meta-dreaming – “‘play’ of the imagination between the virtual and physical that underpins many of the themes explored by artists in projects developed [in] … a space that deliberately entangles the virtual with the physical.”  via https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137283023_4
• meta-emotion –  an organized and structured set of emotions and cognitions about the emotions, both one’s own emotions and the emotions of others”.[1] This broad definition of meta-emotion sparked psychologists’ interest in the topic, particularly regarding parental meta-emotion philosophy. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-emotion
• meta-epistemology – metaphilosophical study of the subject, matter, methods and aims of epistemology and of approaches to understanding and structuring our knowledge of knowledge itself.  In epistemology, there are two basic meta-epistemological approaches: traditional “normative” epistemology, and naturalized epistemology.  via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-epistemology
• meta-ethics – the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments. Meta-ethics is one of the four branches of ethics generally recognized by philosophers, the others being descriptive ethics, normative ethics and applied ethics.  While normative ethics addresses such questions as “What should I do?”, thus endorsing some ethical evaluations and rejecting others, meta-ethics addresses questions such as “What is goodness?” and “How can we tell what is good from what is bad?”, seeking to understand the nature of ethical properties and evaluations.  Some theorists argue that a metaphysical account of morality is necessary for the proper evaluation of actual moral theories and for making practical moral decisions; others reason from opposite premises and suggest that we must impart ideas of moral intuition onto proper action before we can give a proper account of morality’s metaphysics. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-ethics
• meta-fail –  The failure to properly describe an act of failure. Meta-failure cannot be ‘failure to fail’, because this implies that the act in question is a success. Likewise, attempts to define ‘meta fail’ as a level of failure above ‘epic fail’ make a category mistake: both ‘failure’ and ‘meta failure’ are nouns to which the adjective ‘epic’ could be applied.  via http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=meta+fail
• meta-fiction – ‘ (a.k.a. Romantic irony) is fiction that is self-conscious. The narrative voice steps out of the action in various ways to remind the reader that they are reading a book, watching a movie, or attending a play.’  via https://litreactor.com/columns/thats-so-meta-writing-a-story-about-writing-a-story
• metagalaxy –  the complete system of galaxies; the Milky Way and all the surrounding galaxies. via https://www.dictionary.com/browse/metagalaxy
• metagaming – using any method outside the proscribed rules of a game to gain an advantage via https://findwords.info/term/metagaming
• meta-idiocy/stupidity – suggested as a synonym for the  the Dunning-Kruger (wikipedia) effect. via https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10048655
• meta-ignorance –  Not knowing what you don’t know. “At least I have a clue about what I don’t know, but my boss suffers from meta ignorance.” via http://www.netlingo.com/word/meta-ignorance.php
• metainformation – information about information, esp. information about a document or a Web page. via https://definithing.com/define-dictionary/meta-information/
• meta-inquiry – “Meta-inquiry is the coding, interpretation, and valuing of the initial responses garnered from a small homogeneous informant group through initial interviews.”  via  http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR8-4/carlson.pdf
• meta-joke –  refers to several somewhat different, but related categories: self-referential jokes, jokes about jokes (also known as metahumor), and joke templates. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-joke
• metalanguage –  is language or symbols used when language itself is being discussed or examined.[1] In logic and linguistics, a metalanguage is a language used to make statements about statements in another language (the object language). Expressions in a metalanguage are often distinguished from those in an object language by the use of italics, quotation marks, or writing on a separate line. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalanguage
• meta-learning –  Meta learning is originally described by Donald B. Maudsley (1979) as “the process by which learners become aware of and increasingly in control of habits of perception, inquiry, learning, and growth that they have internalized” re:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta_learning
• metalinguistics –  the branch of linguistics that studies language and its relationship to other cultural behaviors.[citation needed][dubious – discuss] It is the study of dialogue relationships between units of speech communication as manifestations and enactments of co-existence. Jacob L. Mey in his book, Trends in Linguistics, describes Mikhail Bakhtin‘s interpretation of metalinguistics as “encompassing the life history of a speech community, with an orientation toward a study of large events in the speech life of people and embody changes in various cultures and ages.” re:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metalinguistics
• meta-literacy –  Metaliteracy promotes critical thinking and collaboration in a digital age, providing a comprehensive framework to effectively participate in social media and online communities. It is a unified construct that supports the acquisition, production, and sharing of knowledge in collaborative online communities. Metaliteracy challenges traditional skills-based approaches to information literacy by recognizing related literacy types and incorporating emerging technologies. Standard definitions of information literacy are insufficient for the revolutionary social technologies currently prevalent online (Mackey & Jacobson, Reframing Information as a Metaliteracy, 2011, 62-62). via http://metaliteracy.cdlprojects.com/what.htm
• meta-meditation – ” What do you call it when you try to meditate but can’t stop thinking about meditation?” re:   http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/cross-check/meta-meditation-a-skeptic-meditates-on-meditation/
• metamemory –  a type of metacognition, is both the introspective knowledge of one’s own memory capabilities (and strategies that can aid memory) and the processes involved in memory self-monitoring. This self-awareness of memory has important implications for how people learn and use memories. When studying, for example, students make judgements of whether they have successfully learned the assigned material and use these decisions, known as “judgments of learning”, to allocate study time.  via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamemory
• metamorphosis –  Also called transformation. A change in the form and often habits of an animal during normal development after the embryonic stage. Metamorphosis includes, in insects, the transformation of a maggot into an adult fly and a caterpillar into a butterfly and, in amphibians, the changing of a tadpole into a frog. via:  https://edurev.in/question/640584/What-s-metamorphosis-How-larva-converted-into-adult-by-it-
• meta-metaphysics –  Metametaphysics is the study of metaphysics. It asks, of the questions posed by metaphysicians, how they (and their answers) ought to be characterized, if they make any sense, what answers to them can be taken to describe, whether answers to them can even be known, how we can know them (if we can), and so on. Here the topic will be approached via a distinction between “metaontology” and “metametaphysics,” a distinction that, in turn, is taken to more or less coincide with that between two metametaphilosophical traditions: “Quineanism” and “Aristotelianism.” re:  http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396577/obo-9780195396577-0217.xml
• Metamodeling –  Metamodel or surrogate model is a model of a model, and metamodeling is the process of generating such metamodels. Metamodeling or meta-modeling is the analysis, construction and development of the frames, rules, constraints, models and theories applicable and useful for modeling a predefined class of problems. As its name implies, this concept applies the notions of meta- and modeling in software engineering and systems engineering. Metamodels are of many types and have diverse applications. A thorough discussion is presented in the following text.  re:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamodeling
• metanarrative –  (in postmodernist literary theory) a narrative about a narrative or narratives via https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/metanarrative
• meta-observation – “meta-observations concern the event system as a whole.  We use them to analyze and judge on the relevance of observations.” via http://www.academia.edu/427884/Hierarchical_Knowledge_and_Meta-Observations
• meta-philosophy –  (sometimes called philosophy of philosophy) is “the investigation of the nature of philosophy“. Its subject matter includes the aims of philosophy, the boundaries of philosophy, and its methods. It is considered by some to be a subject apart from philosophy, while others see it as automatically a part of philosophy, and still others see it as a combination of these subjects. The interest in metaphilosophy led to the establishment of the journal Metaphilosophy in January 1970. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphilosophy
• meta-phobia – electronica song by Trashlagoon https://pro.beatport.com/track/metaphobia-original-mix/5771987; pop/rock by the Earlybirds https://myspace.com/earlybirds/music/song/metaphobia-112070146-127134036; fear of all things self-referential or fear of self-referencing phobias proposed by reddit:  https://www.reddit.com/r/askashittyphilosopher/comments/1ujvtx/would_metaphobia_be_the_fear_of_fear_or_the_fear/ – linked/confused with Metathesiophobia – fear of change or changing things http://www.fearof.net/fear-of-change-phobia-metathesiophobia/
• metaphor –  A metaphor is a figure of speech that refers to something as being the same as another thing for rhetorical effect. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. Where a simile compares two items, a metaphor directly equates them, and does not use “like” or “as” as does a simile. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor
• metaphysics –  is one of the principal works of Aristotle and the first major work of the branch of philosophy with the same name. The principal subject is “being qua being,” or being insofar as it is being. It examines what can be asserted about anything that exists just because of its existence and not because of any special qualities it has. Also covered are different kinds of causation, form and matter, the existence of mathematical objects, and a prime-mover God. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics_%28Aristotle%29
• meta-planning – Representing and Using Knowledge About Planning in Problem Solving and Natural Language Understanding. via http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1207/s15516709cog0503_2/abstract
• meta pragmatics – an awareness by a speaker of the intentions and effects of one’s speech.  re:  http://languageasculturespring11.blogspot.com/2011/03/im-fresh-off-boat.html
• meta-process – ” equates to thinking about thinking… examining the higher level processes that go into living the best life. To the degree that process is “a systematic series of actions directed to some end,” the chief end of metaprocess is maximizing one’s personal conception of what it means to live the best life.” via https://metaprocess.wordpress.com/about/
• metaprogramming –  the writing of computer programs with the ability to treat programs as their data. It means that a program could be designed to read, generate, analyse or transform other programs, and even modify itself while running.[1][2] In some cases, this allows programmers to minimize the number of lines of code to express a solution (hence reducing development time), or it gives programs greater flexibility to efficiently handle new situations without recompilation. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaprogramming
• meta-propoganda – “Use propaganda about propaganda. Show how they make things up and are deliberately trying to deceive, whilst our messages are based on clear evidence.  If you can destroy one piece of propaganda then you shake belief in anything else they say. Meta-propaganda is hence particularly powerful.”  via http://changingminds.org/techniques/propaganda/six_tools_perception_management.htm
• metapsychology –  a speculative psychology which seeks to understand the structure of the mind in terms which may not be empirically verifiable. Sigmund Freud was the first psychologist to introduce metapsychology. Later on, Frank A. Gerbode started the modern movement of metapsychology which proved to be an effective form of treatment for people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Metapsychology has also been used in different practices and sciences such as biology and mechanics. However, today metapsychology is rarely used but emphasizes a person-centered therapy approach which is closely related to psychoanalysis. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metapsychology
• meta-psychosis –  interaction or communication between minds without the intervention of any known physical agency or other known medium via http://www.thefreedictionary.com/metapsychosis ;  n. The supposed action of one mind upon another without any known physical means of communication, or its effect. See psychosis and telepathy.  from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia 
• meta-reading – the practice of studying a book by it’s data.  re:  https://medium.com/i-data/meta-reading-b1d350baedcb#.yi1afcmg9;  Reading about reading;  to ask questions of what you read while you’re reading.  via http://quickwritingtips.blogspot.com/2011/06/meta-reading.html
• meta-reflection – A reflection beyond reflection. A deeper journey of thought in order to obtain comprehensive and in-depth understanding about certain issues via http://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/meta-reflection/18406;  The consideration of various different points of view. via https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/metareflection
• meta-reference – “Meta-reference, a metafiction technique, is a situation in a work of fiction whereby characters display an awareness that they are in such a work, such as a film, television show or book, and possibly that they are being observed by an audience. Sometimes it may even just be a form of editing or film-making technique that comments on the programme/film/book itself. It is also sometimes known as “Breaking the Fourth Wall“, in reference to the theatrical tradition of playing as if there were no audience, as if a wall existed between them and the actors.” via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta-reference
• meta-regression – is a regression-analysis in which the predictors, or moderators, are at the level of the intervention while the dependent variable is the effect size in the intervention. via  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X13000420
• meta-research – ” The emerging field of meta-research aims to characterize existing standards and identify improved practices, in the hope of raising awareness and ultimately improving the quality and reliability of scientific research” via http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002334
• meta-strategy –  An overarching strategy determining which other strategies to use in a given situation. via https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/metastrategy
• metasyntax –  Syntax used to describe syntax. The best known example is BNF and its variants such as EBNF. via http://www.dictionary.com/browse/metasyntax
• meta-synthesis –  According to Screiber et al. (1997, p.314), a meta-synthesis “is bringing together and breaking down of findings, examining them, discovering essential features and, in some way , combining phenomena into a transformed whole” In basic terms, a meta-synthesis is the ‘bringing together’ of Qualitative data to form a new interpretation of the research field.  Unlike a meta-analysis which is used to aggregate findings to establish ‘truths’, for example, if an intervention has a true effect on a variable, a meta-synthesis can lead to new interpretations of research. This can result in new theories being developed.  In summary, a meta-analysis is a way of testing a hypothesis whereas a meta-synthesis is a way of developing a new theory.   via https://abbarker.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/meta-synthesis/
• meta-teaching –  Like meta-cognition and meta-learning, meta-teaching, as ‘teaching about teaching’, can serve to design, examine and reflect on teaching.  via http://www.improvewithmetacognition.com/meta-teaching-improve-your-teaching-while-improving-students-metacognition/
• meta-theory –  a theory whose subject matter is some theory. All fields of research share some meta-theory, regardless whether this is explicit or correct. In a more restricted and specific sense, in mathematics and mathematical logic, metatheory means a mathematical theory about another mathematical theory.  via  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatheory
• metaverse –  The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet. The word metaverse is a portmanteau of the prefix “meta” (meaning “beyond”) and “universe” and is typically used to describe the concept of a future iteration of the internet, made up of persistent, shared, 3D virtual spaces linked into a perceived virtual universe. via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse
• meta-wiki – wikimedia foundation project and think tank site via https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
• meta-writing – thinking about writing in order to understand writing.  re:  http://adventures-in-creative-writing.blogspot.com/2009/05/meta-writing-good-bad-and-ugly.htm