The story
From Mao (referring to Mao Zedong) + -on, coined in 1977 by American theoretical physicist Sheldon L. Glashow in remembrance of Mao, who firmly holds that matter is endlessly divisible.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
maon
Today it means: A general term for any hypothetical particle of which a quark or lepton is consisted; a preon. Full definition →