Meta (from the μετά, meta, meaning 'after' or 'beyond') is an adjective meaning 'more comprehensive' or 'transcending'.[1]
In modern nomenclature, the prefix meta can also serve as a prefix meaning self-referential, as a field of study or endeavor (metatheory: theory about a theory; metamathematics: mathematical theories about mathematics; meta-axiomatics or meta-axiomaticity: axioms about axiomatic systems; metahumor: joking about the ways humor is expressed; etc.).[2]