mindmap root((META)) metadata Data that provides information about other data.
🌱Before putting videos up on the Web site, she always tags them with a decent set of metadata. 🌳Metadata is electronic data that somehow describes an electronic file or its contents, and is usually included in the file itself. An important use for metadata is for searching. A piece of metadata might identify the file, its size, the date it was compiled, its nature, and so on. Metadata is particularly important for making pictures searchable; since a picture of a landscape in the Southwest, for example, can't be "read" by a search engine, data tags such as "Southwest," "mesa," and "arroyo" might be included in the digitized image file. The same can be done for audio files; the tags for a speech might read "Gore," "climate," and "Copenhagen." Metadata tags for a Web page, including tags identifying its most important content, ensure that the page won't be overlooked by a search engine. metaphorical Relating to a figure of speech in which a word or phrase meaning one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a similarity between them.
🌱He always points out to his classes that metaphors can be found in poetry of all kinds, from "The eyes are the windows of the soul" to "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog." 🌳Metaphor comes from a Greek word meaning "transfer" （or, to stay close to its roots, "carry beyond"）. Thus, a metaphor transfers the meaning of one word or phrase to another. Metaphors often include a form of the verb be （as in the examples above）, and they're often contrasted with similes, which are usually introduced by like or as （"O, my luve's like a red, red rose"）. But, they don't have to include be; when you say that the teacher gave us a mountain of homework or that we're drowning in paperwork, these too are metaphorical statements. metaphysics The part of philosophy having to do with the ultimate causes and basic nature of things.
🌱Most of the congregation prefers to hear their minister preach about virtue, and they get restless when his sermons head in the direction of metaphysics. 🌳Just as physics deals with the laws that govern the physical world （such as those of gravity or the properties of waves）, metaphysics describes what is beyond physics—the nature and origin of reality itself, the immortal soul, and the existence of a supreme being. Opinions about these metaphysical topics vary widely, since what's being discussed can't be observed or measured or even truly known to exist. So most metaphysical questions are still as far from a final answer as they were when Plato and Aristotle were asking them. metonymy A figure of speech in which the name of one thing is used for the name of something else that is associated with it or related to it.
🌱When Wall Street has the jitters, the White House issues a statement, and the people wait for answers from City Hall, metonymy is having a busy day. 🌳At first glance, metaphor and metonymy seem close in meaning, but there are differences. In a metaphor we substitute one thing for something else that's usually quite different; for example, Web for a worldwide network of linked computers and their technology. In metonymy, we replace one word or phrase （such as "stock market" or "local government officials" in the examples above） with another word or phrase associated with it. Most familiar metonyms are place-names, such as Hollywood for "the film industry," or K Street for "Washington lobbyists." But saying "the press" to refer to the news media, or "sweat" to refer to hard work, could also be called metonymy.