meta-critique
|me-ta-cri-tique|
🇺🇸
/ˌmɛtə.krɪˈtik/
🇬🇧
/ˌmɛtə.krɪˈtiːk/
a critique of a critique
Etymology
'meta-critique' originates from Modern English, specifically formed from the Greek prefix 'meta-' and the French/English noun 'critique', where 'meta-' meant 'after, beyond, about' and the root of 'critique' comes from Greek 'kritikos' meaning 'able to judge'.
'meta-' has been used as a combining form in English since the 20th century to indicate self-reference or 'about' (as in 'metatheory'); 'critique' came into English from French 'critique', itself from Greek 'kritikos'. These elements combined in scholarly usage to form 'meta-critique' (late 20th century) meaning a critique about critique.
Initially the elements simply meant 'beyond/about' + 'judgment', but over time the compound 'meta-critique' took on the specialized sense of a second-order or methodological critique of criticism itself.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a critique that analyses or evaluates another critique — i.e., a second-order critique focused on the assumptions, methods, or implications of an earlier critical work.
Her article is a meta-critique of recent readings of the poem, questioning their methodological assumptions.
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Noun 2
a theoretical critique of the concepts and frameworks used in criticism generally (e.g., criticizing the methods of critical theory itself).
The conference included a panel offering a meta-critique of dominant theoretical frameworks in cultural studies.
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Last updated: 2025/10/23 22:55