The story
- Proto-Indo-European*gleyH-
- Proto-Indo-European*glóh₁ytn̥
- Proto-Italic*gloiten
- Latinglūten
- Late Latinglūs
- Old Frenchgl
- Middle Englishglew
- Englishglue
- Ancient Greekἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)
- Latinēlectrum
- New Latinēlectricus
- Englishelectric
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
- Proto-Hellenic*éimi
- Ancient Greekἰόν (ión)
- Englishion
- Englishelectronbf.
- English todaygluon
From glue + -on. From being a particle (suffix "-on") that "glues" (attracts) together particles that feel the force carried by the gluon. Coined by American physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1962.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.