This week’s theme
Words illustrated with AI

This week’s words
speechify
agrostology
smilet
tergiversation
meta


This week’s comments
AWADmail 1047

Next week’s theme
Words derived after names

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(MEH-tuh)

MEANING:

adjective:	1. Self-referential.
	2. Relating to members of its own category.
adverb:	In a self-referential manner.
noun:	Something that is self-referential.
prefix:	Denoting transformation, transcending, going beyond, etc.

NOTES:

Lisa del Giocondo (1479-1542), the model for the Mona Lisa painting, died today 480 years ago on Jul 15.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek meta (after, beyond, behind, beside, among, etc.). Earliest documented use: 1838.

USAGE:

“The watchers became the watched. It was all so very meta.”
Sean Williams, et al; Solaris Rising 3; Solaris; 2014.

“A new comedy about fantasy football, which follows a group of armchair quarterbacks as they try to tackle life. How meta would it be if people started betting on what was going to happen on the show?”
TV Guide; Oct 26, 2009.

More meta examples: Graffiti in Paris. This sentence has five words.
What are your favorite examples of meta? Share below or email us at words@wordsmith.org. As always, include your location (city, state).

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: