ˈmeɡə adjective (Lifestyle
and Leisure) (Youth Culture) Colloquially,
very large or
important; on a
grand scale;
great.
Etymology:
From the Greek megas 'great'. The adjective
was probably formed
because the combining
form mega(as in
megastar and megastore) was
sometimes written as a free-standing
element (mega
star, etc.),
which later
came to be interpreted as a
word in
its own right.
This process is
not uncommon with Latin and Greek combining forms: see ecoand
Euro-, and
compare pseudo, which
has been used as a free-standing adjective
for several decades.
History and
Usage: Mega has been in
colloquial use,
especially in the
entertainment industry,
since at
least the
beginning of the eighties. At
first it was used
mainly in variations on megastar and
megastore (describing a
person as a mega bore or a
development as a mega project). By the
middle of the
decade it
had also started to be used predicatively (as in 'that's mega'). In the
business world,
any transaction involving large sums of
money (millions of dollars) can be described as mega; mega
bid, mega deal, and mega
merger are
all in use, sometimes written
solid (and
therefore probably based on the combining form
rather than the adjective). By the
end of the eighties, mega had been taken up as a
favourite term of
approval among young people, with a weakening of
sense to 'very good' (a
similar story to
that of great
two decades previously). I was mega, but not mega
enough for the job.
New Yorker 25
Mar. 1985, p. 41 The
insurance companies helped
promote the industry as a
whole with
their mega launches and promotions. Investors
Chronicle 8 Jan. 1988, p. 28 I
got the
gabardine there. I must
say that I
think that it's
absolutely mega. I got it in
Auntie Hilda's shop--for a quid. I'm
afraid she doesn't
have much concept of the
value of
stylish clothes.
Guardian 3 Aug. 1989, p. 34