# English words that pack lots of meaning but other languages don't have a word for it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 20, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726 "2020-01-20T22:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/141 "2020-01-26T16:42:30Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > When I lived in Mexico, I found the English phrasal verb “look forward to” difficult to translate — I had to use a full sentence explanation to convey it. anticipación? la expectación? ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/142 "2020-01-26T17:02:45Z")
> [@Tinker\_Grey](#): > > anticipación? > la expectación? I just use _esperar con gusto_, but it may not convey the same register in formal correspondence. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2020, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/143 "2020-01-26T19:31:50Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I just use _esperar con gusto_, but it may not convey the same register in formal correspondence. That comes really close - nice! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/144 "2020-01-29T21:46:03Z")
I just ran across a difficult bit of English vernacular: “meta”. I was asked to explain what people meant by that. It was a struggle. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/145 "2020-01-29T21:52:14Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I just ran across a difficult bit of English vernacular: “meta”. I was asked to explain what people meant by that. It was a struggle. That reminds me of something that happened to me in about 1988 - a Chinese graduate student at my university (when I was grad student) asked me to explain the jokes in Mad magazine. That was a struggle too… ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/146 "2020-01-29T21:56:58Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I just ran across a difficult bit of English vernacular: “meta”. I was asked to explain what people meant by that. It was a struggle. But that’s definitely a word that’s older than the English language and the concept has been borrowed from Greek by many other languages. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/147 "2020-01-29T22:01:53Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > But that’s definitely a word that’s older than the English language and the concept has been borrowed from Greek by many other languages. But the original Greek meaning is somewhat removed from what it means in modern English vernacular. It is kind of metaμετα. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/148 "2020-01-29T22:14:27Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > But the original Greek meaning is somewhat removed from what it means in modern English vernacular. It is kind of metaμετα. That is true, but for instance “meta” in German means exactly the same as in English, with all the same connotations. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/149 "2020-01-29T22:19:43Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > That is true, but for instance “meta” in German means exactly the same as in English, with all the same connotations. I suspect that that means it’s an adoption directly from English (but you’re right that this also means that “meta” isn’t unique to English). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/150 "2020-01-29T22:36:15Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > I suspect that that means it’s an adoption directly from English (but you’re right that this also means that “meta” isn’t unique to English). Why do you think that? Of course “meta” was adopted into German from Greek. The most obvious example is the word “Metaphysik”, metaphysics, by the way “métaphysique” in French, “metafísica” in Spanish, “metafisica” in Italian and so on. It’s a very old philosophical concept that has been adapted for more everyday cultural phenomena into the vernacular of at least English and German, the two languages I speak. That’s not surprising. Or am I missing a special meaning of “meta” in English I’m not aware of? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/151 "2020-01-29T22:47:07Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Or am I missing a special meaning of “meta” in English I’m not aware of? “Meta”, as a stand-alone word in modern vernacular has a meaning that sort of comes from its prefix usage. Its meaning similar to “abstract” (the literal Greek meaning of μετα is something like after/beyond). One might say that a lot of this thread is pretty meta (as in, about something that is about something.) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/152 "2020-01-29T22:50:31Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Why do you think that? Of course “meta” was adopted into German from Greek. The most obvious example is the word “Metaphysik”, metaphysics, by the way “métaphysique” in French, “metafísica” in Spanish, “metafisica” in Italian and so on. It’s a very old philosophical concept that has been adapted for more everyday cultural phenomena into the vernacular of at least English and German, the two languages I speak. That’s not surprising. Or am I missing a special meaning of “meta” in English I’m not aware of? I think **eschereal** was referring to “meta” in the sense of things that are self-referential, or “fourth-wall breaking” - like Steve Martin’s meta-humor (humor about the structure of jokes) or characters like Deadpool who seem to understand that they are in a movie (or in a graphic novel). That sense of “meta” is modern in English and its use in that sense in German seems to me likely to have been adopted from English - but I’d be glad to be shown to be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/153 "2020-01-29T23:07:14Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > “Meta”, as a stand-alone word in modern vernacular has a meaning that sort of comes from its prefix usage. Its meaning similar to “abstract” (the literal Greek meaning of μετα is something like after/beyond). One might say that a lot of this thread is pretty meta (as in, about something that is about something.) > [@Andy\_L](#): > > I think **eschereal** was referring to “meta” in the sense of things that are self-referential, or “fourth-wall breaking” - like Steve Martin’s meta-humor (humor about the structure of jokes) or characters like Deadpool who seem to understand that they are in a movie (or in a graphic novel). That sense of “meta” is modern in English and its use in that sense in German seems to me likely to have been adopted from English - but I’d be glad to be shown to be wrong. First thing: the “meta” prefix has been adopted into a German adjective the same way as in English. The reason I think this happened independently from English is the fact that the concept is so old. German has the tendency to adopt all kinds of words or parts of words and compose new compound words with it. So words like Metabeispiel (meta example) or Metaexistenz (meta existence) are even older than the standalone “meta”, and it’s no great stretch to think that it followed from there. But of course I must concede that this is just a hunch or gut feeling. I’d be gladly taught that the first use of “meta” in that sense occurred in a Hollywood movie or Marvel comic and reached Germany that way. ETA: the night is still young, I might do a bit of research about it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/154 "2020-01-29T23:59:56Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > First thing: the “meta” prefix has been adopted into a German adjective the same way as in English. The reason I think this happened independently from English is the fact that the concept is so old. German has the tendency to adopt all kinds of words or parts of words and compose new compound words with it. So words like Metabeispiel (meta example) or Metaexistenz (meta existence) are even older than the standalone “meta”, and it’s no great stretch to think that it followed from there. > > But of course I must concede that this is just a hunch or gut feeling. I’d be gladly taught that the first use of “meta” in that sense occurred in a Hollywood movie or Marvel comic and reached Germany that way. > > ETA: the night is still young, I might do a bit of research about it 😉 Thanks. Would vernacular sentences like “That’s so meta!” or “Bill’s being really meta today” make sense if translated into German (“Das ist sehr meta”?). ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/155 "2020-01-30T00:14:53Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Thanks. Would vernacular sentences like “That’s so meta!” or “Bill’s being really meta today” make sense if translated into German (“Das ist sehr meta”?). Absolutely! Exactly the same meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726/156 "2020-01-30T00:19:40Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Absolutely! Exactly the same meaning. Thanks! It might be hard to determine for sure if Germans have picked up this usage from Americans (or not) (a linguist might already know), but I withdraw my assumption that it’s obvious that they did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-pack-lots-of-meaning-but-other-languages-dont-have-a-word-for-it/846726.md?page=7)