metafiction
noun
metafiction is spelled M-E-T-A-F-I-C-T-I-O-N: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, metafiction means “A form of self-referential literature concerned with the art and devices of fiction itself” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of metafiction is metafictions.
How many letters and syllables are in metafiction?
| Letters | 11: M-E-T-A-F-I-C-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 29 million words; the 163,711th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is metafiction?
Metafiction appears about once in every 29 million words in written English, the 163,711th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of metafiction
- metafictions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does metafiction mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A form of self-referential literature concerned with the art and devices of fiction itself.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Metafiction in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense form of self-referential literature:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | métafiction |
| German | Metafiktion |
| Portuguese | metaficção |
| Spanish | metaficción |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does metafiction come from?
From meta- + fiction, coined in 1970 by William H.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).