<p><strong>A basic meaning of &quot;元&quot; is &quot;primary/first&quot;</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>&quot;metadata&quot;</strong> - a set of <strong>(existing/primary)</strong> data that describes and gives information about other data.</p>
<p><strong>&quot;meta-analysis&quot;</strong> - &quot;examination of data from a number of <strong>(existing/primary)</strong> independent studies of the same subject, in order to determine overall trends.
&quot;</p>
<p><strong>&quot;metaphysics&quot;</strong> - the branch of philosophy that deals with the <strong>first(元)</strong> principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-10T18:22:34.800Z
2022-09-10T18:29:38.007Z
2022-09-10T18:29:38.007Z
r13
<p>Maybe, <code>meta</code> comes from here:  the <code>meta-programming</code> is translated as <code>元编程</code>.</p>
<p>p.s. as a chinese software developer, I also can't understand why meta = 元. Also including these tranlation:</p>
<ul>
<li>socket: 嵌套字</li>
<li>stack: 堆栈</li>
<li>private key: 私钥</li>
<li>Hash: 哈希</li>
</ul>
<p>The Chinese translation from English is full of bullshit. So we in most cases we speak English word instead of Chinese.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/IIjYa.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/IIjYa.png" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-10T23:54:17.260Z
2022-09-10T23:54:17.260Z
Siwei
<p>Why does &quot;meta-&quot; translate to “元-”?</p>
<p>For example, metadata=元数据, meta-analysis=元分析, metaphysics=元物理学。</p>
<p>I understand meta-X to mean &quot;X that is about/of/concerning X&quot;. But 元 tends to mean &quot;basic/original/fundamental&quot;. Why have people used it for &quot;meta-&quot;?</p>

<translation><etymology><loanwords>
Why does "meta-" translate to “元-”?
# Why does "meta-" translate to “元-”?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-10)

Why does "meta-" translate to “元-”?

For example, metadata=元数据, meta-analysis=元分析, metaphysics=元物理学。

I understand meta-X to mean "X that is about/of/concerning X". But 元 tends to mean "basic/original/fundamental". Why have people used it for "meta-"?

**Tags:** translation, etymology, loanwords

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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-09-10. Score: 3

**A basic meaning of "元" is "primary/first"**.

**"metadata"** - a set of **(existing/primary)** data that describes and gives information about other data.

**"meta-analysis"** - "examination of data from a number of **(existing/primary)** independent studies of the same subject, in order to determine overall trends.
"

**"metaphysics"** - the branch of philosophy that deals with the **first(元)** principles of things, including abstract concepts such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time, and space"


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### Answer by username_2 on 2022-09-10. Score: -1

Maybe, `meta` comes from here: the `meta-programming` is translated as `元编程`.

p.s. as a chinese software developer, I also can't understand why meta = 元. Also including these tranlation:

* socket: 嵌套字
* stack: 堆栈
* private key: 私钥
* Hash: 哈希

The Chinese translation from English is full of bullshit. So we in most cases we speak English word instead of Chinese.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/IIjYa.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/IIjYa.png)


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