<s>
The	O
Meta	B-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
a	O
modifier	B-Device
key	I-Device
on	O
certain	O
keyboards	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
first	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
Stanford	O
Artificial	O
Intelligence	O
Lab	O
(	O
SAIL	O
)	O
keyboard	B-Device
in	O
1970	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Meta	B-Device
key	I-Device
first	O
appeared	O
on	O
the	O
Stanford	O
Artificial	O
Intelligence	O
Lab	O
(	O
SAIL	O
)	O
keyboard	B-Device
in	O
1970	O
and	O
successors	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Knight	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
,	O
space-cadet	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
,	O
MIT	O
Lisp	B-Operating_System
machine	I-Operating_System
,	O
Symbolics	B-Device
keyboards	I-Device
,	O
and	O
on	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
keyboards	B-Device
(	O
where	O
it	O
is	O
marked	O
with	O
a	O
black	O
diamond	O
"	O
◆	O
"	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Generally	O
,	O
the	O
Meta	B-Device
key	I-Device
worked	O
similar	O
to	O
Macintosh	B-Device
's	O
Command	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
in	O
that	O
when	O
held	O
down	O
it	O
modified	O
letters	O
and	O
symbols	O
into	O
immediate	O
commands	O
(	O
shortcuts	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
these	O
keyboards	B-Device
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
was	O
placed	O
closest	O
to	O
the	O
space	B-Device
bar	I-Device
,	O
then	O
the	O
Meta	B-Device
key	I-Device
outside	O
Control	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
space-cadet	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
added	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
key	I-Device
outside	O
Meta	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Hyper	B-Device
key	I-Device
outside	O
that	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
on	O
most	O
modern	O
keyboards	B-Device
,	O
the	O
Control	B-Device
key	I-Device
is	O
farthest	O
from	O
the	O
space	B-Device
bar	I-Device
,	O
reversing	O
the	O
convenience	O
of	O
shortcuts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
keyboards	B-Device
that	O
lack	O
a	O
physical	O
Meta	B-Device
key	I-Device
,	O
its	O
functionality	O
may	O
be	O
invoked	O
by	O
other	O
keys	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Windows	B-Device
key	I-Device
or	O
Macintosh	B-Device
's	O
Option	B-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
software	O
often	O
provides	O
another	O
workaround	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
using	O
the	O
Alt	B-Device
key	I-Device
(	O
which	O
does	O
not	O
exist	O
on	O
the	O
Knight	B-Device
keyboard	I-Device
)	O
,	O
or	O
using	O
the	O
Esc	B-Device
key	I-Device
as	O
a	O
prefix	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
in	O
Emacs	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
these	O
workarounds	O
,	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
Meta	O
–	O
despite	O
being	O
the	O
most-used	O
additional	O
modifier	B-Device
key	I-Device
–	O
was	O
less	O
than	O
for	O
other	O
modifier	B-Device
keys	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
more	O
common	O
today	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
Windows	B-Device
key	I-Device
to	O
emulate	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
key	I-Device
.	O
</s>
