Lepton
/ˈlɛp.tɒn/noun
A very small particle, especially one with no strong interaction; in physics, a fundamental particle such as an electron or neutrino.
Did you know?Lepton is built from the Greek root leptos, and that same ancient root also gave us words like leptin and leptosome, showing how “smallness” became a scientific obsession.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
λεπτός (leptós)
“thin, fine, slender, small”
Ancient Greek
Greek
λεπτόν (leptón)
“a small coin; a small thing”
Late 19th Century
English
lepton
“a small particle; later, a class of fundamental particle”
20th Century
English
lepton
“in particle physics, a fundamental particle such as an electron or neutrino”
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