What is the meaning of Meta Data?

In simple terms meta data means data about data. It means a particular data which represents another set of data. For example in java you use meta data which is nothing but representation of another function.

So, according to me it is usually the representation. I hope this answers the question.

Hi Sir.

Metadata is data that describes other data. Meta is a prefix that in most information technology usages means "an underlying definition or description."

Metadata summarizes basic information about data, which can make finding and working with particular instances of data easier. For example, author, date created and date modified and file size are examples of very basic document metadata.  Having the abilty to filter through that metadata makes it much easier for someone to locate a specific document. 

In addition to document files, metadata is used for images, videos, spreadsheets and web pages. The use of metadata on web pages can be very important. Metadata for web pages contain descriptions of the page’s contents, as well as keywords linked to the content. These are usually expressed in the form of metatags. The metadata containing the web page’s description and summary is often displayed in search results by search engines, making its accuracy and details very important since it can determine whether a user decides to visit the site or not. Metatags are often evaluated by search engines to help decide a web page’s relevance, and were used as the key factor in determining position in a search until the late1990s. The increase in search engine optimization (SEO) towards the end of the1990s led to many websites “keyword stuffing” their metadata to trick search engines, making their websites seem more relevant than others. Since then search engines have reduced their reliance on metatags, though they are still factored in when indexing pages. Many search engines also try to halt web pages’ ability to thwart their system by regularly changing their criteria for rankings, with Google being notorious for frequently changing their highly-undisclosed ranking algorithms.

Metadata can be created manually, or by automated information processing. Manual creation tends to be more accurate, allowing the user to input any information they feel is relevant or needed to help describe the file. Automated metadata creation can be much more elementary, usually only displaying information such as file size, file extension, when the file was created and who created the file.

meta- word-forming element meaning1. "after, behind,"2. "changed, altered,"3. "higher, beyond;" from Greek meta (prep.) "in the midst of, in common with, by means of, in pursuit or quest of," from PIE *me- "in the middle" (cf. German mit, Gothic miþ, Old English mið "with, together with, among;" see mid). Notion of "changing places with" probably led to senses "change of place, order, or nature," which was a principal meaning of the Greek word when used as a prefix (but also denoting "community, participation; in common with; pursuing"). Metaphysics, for instance, means beyond physics.......and into the rream of spiritual. Meta data is "Metadata (metacontent) are defined as the data providing information about one or more aspects of the data, such as:

• Means of creation of the data
• Purpose of the data
• Time and date of creation
• Creator or author of the data
• Location on a computer network where the data were created
• Standards used

For example, a digital image may include metadata that describe how large the picture is, the color depth, the image resolution, when the image was created, and other data.[1] A text document's metadata may contain information about how long the document is, who the author is, when the document was written, and a short summary of the document (wikipedia)." You may also refer to the next stage called "metaanalysis."