transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈmeɡə ]
adjective (Lifestyle and Leisure) (Youth Culture) Colloquially, very large or important; on a grand scale; great. Etymology: From the Greek megas 'great'. The adjective was probably formed because the combining form mega- (as in megastar and megastore) was sometimes written as a free-standing element (mega star, etc.), which later came to be interpreted as a word in its own right. This process is not uncommon with Latin and Greek combining forms: see eco- and Euro-, and compare pseudo, which has been used as a free-standing adjective for several decades. History and Usage: Mega has been in colloquial use, especially in the entertainment industry, since at least the beginning of the eighties. At first it was used mainly in variations on megastar and megastore (describing a person as a mega bore or a development as a mega project). By the middle of the decade it had also started to be used predicatively (as in 'that's mega'). In the business world, any transaction involving large sums of money (millions of dollars) can be described as mega; mega bid, mega deal, and mega merger are all in use, sometimes written solid (and therefore probably based on the combining form rather than the adjective). By the end of the eighties, mega had been taken up as a favourite term of approval among young people, with a weakening of sense to 'very good' (a similar story to that of great two decades previously). I was mega, but not mega enough for the job. New Yorker 25 Mar. 1985, p. 41 The insurance companies helped promote the industry as a whole with their mega launches and promotions. Investors Chronicle 8 Jan. 1988, p. 28 I got the gabardine there. I must say that I think that it's absolutely mega. I got it in Auntie Hilda's shop--for a quid. I'm afraid she doesn't have much concept of the value of stylish clothes. Guardian 3 Aug. 1989, p. 34