What's in a Word (or Two)? "Discography" and "Metadiscography": An Etymological Investigation.

While writing a forthcoming book on the history of the jazz discography, the author investigated the origins of two key words, "discography" and "metadiscography." Generally thought to have been first used in 1936, "discography," a systematic list or catalog of sound recordings, actually appeared in print as early as 1930. "Metadiscography" was originally dated to 1991, when it appeared in a book review as a synonym for "general discography" or "comprehensive discography." In fact, it was first used in 1989 to describe something quite different, and its subsequent evolution is an interesting story that is not without its own significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]