lepton
/ˈlɛptɒn/ noun
Forms lepta leptons
- noun A coin used since ancient times in Greece, serving in modern times as one hundredth of a phoenix, a drachma, and a euro (as the Greek form of the Eurocent).
- noun A small, bronze Judean coin from the 1st century BCE, considered by some to be the widow's mite.
- noun (particle physics) An elementary particle that has a spin of 1/2 (i.e., is a fermion) and does not interact via the strong nuclear force; examples include the electron, the muon, the neutrino and the tauon.
Etymology
Derived from Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón, “small”).
From Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón), neuter form of λεπτός (leptós, “small”).
From Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón, “small”) + English -on.
From Ancient Greek λεπτός (leptós) + -on. Coined by Dutch-American physicist Abraham Pais in 1947.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “lepton”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details