Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - meta-

 or met-  prefix  Etymology: New Latin & Medieval Latin, from Latin or Greek; Latin, from Greek, among, with, after, from meta among, with, after; akin to Old English mid, mith with, Old High German 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 metaplasia  3. metaphysics more comprehensive ; transcending metapsychological — usually 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