"M" Word Origins

met

Old English

From Middle English meten, from Old English metan ("to meet, encounter").

meta

Greek

Borrowed as a stand-alone word from the prefix "meta-" (from Greek meta, "beyond, after, with"), used in words like metaphysics and metadata.

metabolic

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek metabolikos, from metabole ("change"), the same root as "metabolism".

metabolism

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek metabole ("change"), via the -ism suffix, from metaballo ("to change or alter").

metabolize

Origin

From Ancient Greek μετᾰβολή (metăbolḗ, “change, mutation”) + -ize.

metachronous

Origin

By surface analysis, meta- + chron- + -ous.

metacognition

Greek

From Greek meta 'beyond, about' plus Latin cognitio 'knowing', from cognoscere 'to get to know'.

metadata

Greek

From Greek meta 'beyond, about' plus data, the plural of Latin datum 'something given'.

metal

Ancient Greek

From Old French metal, from Latin metallum ("metal, mine"), from Ancient Greek metallon ("mine, quarry").

metalclad

Origin

From metal + clad.

metallic

Latin

From Latin metallicus, from metallum ("metal").

metallurgy

Greek

From Greek metallon 'metal, mine' plus -ourgia 'working', via modern Latin metallurgia.

metalworking

Origin

From metal + working.

metalworks

Origin

From metal + works.

metamorphism

Origin

From metamorphosis + -ism, after French métamorphisme.

metamorphize

Origin

From meta- + morph + -ize.

metamorphose

Origin

From French métamorphoser, from Old French metamorphose, from Latin metamorphōsis; see metamorphosis.

metamorphosis

Ancient Greek

From Latin metamorphosis, from Ancient Greek metamorphosis, from meta- ("change") + morphe ("form").

metanoia

Origin

From Ancient Greek μετάνοια (metánoia, “repentance”, literally “afterthought”), a compound of μετά (metá, “after, with”) and νοέω (noéō, “to perceive, to think”).

metaphor

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek metaphora, from metaphero ("to transfer, carry across"), from meta- + phero ("to carry").

metaphrase

Origin

From Ancient Greek μεταφράζομαι (metaphrázomai, “consider after”). By surface analysis, meta- + phrase.

metaphysical

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin metaphysicalis, ultimately from meta- + physical.

metaphysics

Greek

From the Greek title ta meta ta physika ("the things after the Physics"), referring to the part of Aristotle’s work that came after his book on natural science.

metastasize

Greek

From Greek metastasis 'a change of position, removal', from methistanai 'to change, transfer'.

Metatron

Hebrew

From Hebrew מְטַטְרוֹן (Məṭaṭrôn), whose origin is obscure. Possibly from Hebrew מטרא (mattara) 'keeper of the watch.' The Greek/Latin form superficially appears to be a Greek compound meta-τρον (-tron), but that would not seem to make much sense semantically, meaning something like "among-tool." It has also been proposed that the Hebrew word actually does in turn originate from Greek, coming from μετά + θρόνος, with the "th" being transformed into a "t" as the word was repeatedly taken up by one language from another. A review by Hekhalot lists these two possibilities plus seven more.

metaverse

Origin

From meta- + (uni)verse. Analyzable as meta- + -verse. In the sci-fi sense coined by American science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in 1992.

Metcalf

Old English

Possibly from Old English *metecealf (“meat calf”), a calf to be fattened up for eating. The use as a surname could have started off as a jocular nickname for an individual thought to be as "fat as a prize-calf"; or else in reference to the occupation involved in fattening up such a calf.

Metcalfe

Origin

Variant of Metcalf.

mete

Old English

From Old English metan ("to measure, mark off"), related to modern German messen ("to measure").

metempsychosis

Origin

From Late Latin metempsychosis, from Koine Greek μετεμψύχωσις (metempsúkhōsis).

meteor

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek meteoron ("thing high up in the air"), from meta- + aeiro ("to lift, raise"). Originally covered any atmospheric phenomenon, but the everyday sense narrowed to shooting stars.

meteoric

Origin

From meteor + the adjective suffix -ic.

meteorite

Origin

From meteor + -ite, a suffix often used for rocks and minerals.

meteoroidal

Origin

From meteoroid + -al.

meteorological

Origin

From meteorology + -ical.

meteorologist

Origin

From meteorology + -ist.

meteorology

Origin

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μετεωρολογία (meteōrología), from μετέωρα (metéōra, “celestial phenomena”), nominalized from the neuter plural of μετέωρος (metéōros, “high in the sky”), + -λογία (-logía, “study of”). By surface analysis, meteor (“atmospheric phenomenon”) + -ology (“study of”). First attested in 1563.

meter

Middle English

From Middle English metere ("one who measures"), related to the verb mete ("to measure"); later applied to measuring devices, likely influenced by words like barometer and thermometer.

meth

Origin

A shortened form of methamphetamine.

methadone

Origin

A blend name built from parts of its chemical description — roughly "dimethylamino" + "diphenyl" + "heptanone" — reflecting its molecular structure.

methamphetamine

Origin · 1940

Formed from meth- (methyl) + amphetamine, coined in the 1940s.

methane

Origin

From methyl + the chemical suffix -ane.

methanol

French · 1800

From methane + -ol (the suffix used for alcohols). The name traces back to French chemists in the 1800s who described it as "wood alcohol" using Greek roots for "wine" and "wood".

methedrine

Origin

Trade name.

methinks

Old English

From Old English mē þynceþ ("it seems to me"), combining me with an old verb meaning "to seem" — not historically related to the verb think, despite the resemblance.

method

Latin

From Middle French methode, from Latin methodus, from Greek méthodos, literally "a following after" (meta- + hodos, "way, path").

methodic

Origin

From Ancient Greek μεθοδικός (methodikós, “going to work by rule, systematic, crafty”).

methodical

Greek

From Greek methodikos ("systematic") + the suffix -al.