What is meta?

"Meta" is a prefix that comes from Greek and means "beyond" or "transcending". In various contexts, "meta" can refer to something that is self-referential or reflective, or that pertains to higher-level or more abstract concepts.

In the context of internet communities, "meta" is often used to refer to discussions or posts that are about the community itself rather than about the original topic of the community. For example, a discussion about the rules of a subreddit would be considered "meta" because it's not directly related to the topic of the subreddit, but rather about the community that the subreddit represents.

In philosophy, "metaphysics" is a branch that deals with the fundamental nature of reality and the universe, going beyond the empirical study of the physical world. "Metaethics" deals with the nature of ethical statements and concepts, and "metaepistemology" deals with the nature of knowledge and how we acquire it.

In linguistics, "metalinguistics" refers to the study of language as a system and the use of language to talk about language itself.

Overall, "meta" can be used in a variety of contexts to refer to things that are self-referential, higher-level, or abstract.