Where does “metatable” come from?

metatable (English) comes from English meta, from Latin mēta, from Proto-West Germanic mōtijan, from Proto-Germanic mōtijaną, from Proto-Germanic mōtą, from Proto-Indo-European meh₂d- — to be wet, to become wet; to meet, approach,...

metatable (English): A table containing references to functions that...

Definitions

A table containing references to functions that...

Ancestry of “metatable”, step by step

metatable traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English meta

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	English	meta	Self-referential; structured analogously, but at...
2	Latin	mēta	cone, pyramid
3	Proto-West Germanic	mōtijan	to meet
4	Proto-Germanic	mōtijaną	to meet, encounter
5	Proto-Germanic	mōtą	meeting
6	Proto-Indo-European	meh₂d-	to be wet, to become wet; to meet, approach,...

via English table

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	English	table	Furniture with a top surface to accommodate a...
2	Middle English	table	A table; A level writing surface; Any level...
3	Old French	table	table
4	Latin	tabula	tablet, sometimes a tablet covered with wax for...
5	Proto-Italic	*taðlā	board

Every word from Proto-Indo-European meh₂d- →Every word from Proto-Germanic mōtą →Every word from Proto-Germanic mōtijaną →