[meta-] or met- prefix [NL & ML, fr. L or Gk; L, fr. Gk, among, with, after, fr. meta among, with, after; akin to OE mid, mith with, OHG mit] 1 a: occurring later than or in succession to: after "metestrus" b: situated behind or beyond "metencephalon" "metacarpus" c: later or more highly organized or specialized form of "metaxylem"
2: change: transformation 3 [metaphysics]: more comprehensive: transcending "metapsychology"--used with the name of a discipline to designate a new but related discipline designed to deal critically with the original one "metamathematics"
4. a: involving substitution at or characterized by two positions in the benzene ring that are separated by one carbon atom "meta-xylene" b: derived from by loss of water "metaphosphoric acid"