Etymology

lepton

L1E1P3T1O1N1

Today it means: 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). Full definition →

Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón)
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lepton · noun1

  1. Ancient Greekλέπω (lépō)
  2. Ancient Greekλεπτόν (leptón)
  3. English todaylepton

Derived from Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón, “small”). From Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón), neuter form of λεπτός (leptós, “small”).

lepton · noun2

  1. Ancient Greekλέπω (lépō)
  2. Ancient Greekλεπτόν (leptón)
  3. Ancient Greekἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)
  4. Latinēlectrum
  5. New Latinēlectricus
  6. Englishelectric
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
  9. Proto-Hellenic*éimi
  10. Ancient Greekἰόν (ión)
  11. Englishion
  12. Englishelectronbf.
  13. English todaylepton

From Ancient Greek λεπτόν (leptón, “small”) + English -on. From Ancient Greek λεπτός (leptós) + -on. Coined by Dutch-American physicist Abraham Pais in 1947.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekλεπτός all →

leptinleptospiralepto-leptocephalusleptolithic

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.