meson

M3E1S1O1N1
/ˈmɛs.ɒn//ˈmiːzɒn//ˈ-sɒn//ˈmɛ-/

noun

The mesial plane dividing the body into similar right and left halves.

Similar
mesotron
OriginAncient Greek μέσον (méson) ← Proto-Hellenic *métsos ← Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

meson1

nounmeson (plural mesons)

plural mesons

  1. regionalbiologyThe mesial plane dividing the body into similar right and left halves.

meson2

nounmeson (plural mesons)

plural mesons

  1. obsoleteA member of a group of subatomic particles having a mass intermediate between electrons and protons. (The most easily detected mesons fit this definition.)
  2. particlespecificallynatural sciencesAn elementary particle that is composed of a quark and an antiquark, such as a kaon or pion. (Mesons composed of rarer quarks are much heavier.)

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
mesotron
Broader
bosonhadron
Narrower
scalar mesonvector meson

nounan elementary particle responsible for the forces in the atomic nucleus; a hadron with a baryon number of 0

Similar
mesotron
Broader
hadronboson
Also see
mesionmesotron

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

meson · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Hellenic*métsos
  6. Ancient Greekμέσον (méson)
  7. Englishmeson

From Ancient Greek μέσον (méson, “middle”). Doublet of medium.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

meson · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Hellenic*métsos
  6. Ancient Greekμέσος (mésos)
  7. Englishmeso-
  8. Ancient Greekἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)
  9. Latinēlectrum
  10. New Latinēlectricus
  11. Englishelectric
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
  14. Proto-Hellenic*éimi
  15. Ancient Greekἰόν (ión)
  16. Englishion
  17. Englishelectronbf.
  18. Englishmeson

From meso- + -on. Coined by Indian physicist Homi Bhabha in 1939, as a modification of the earlier suggestion mesotron.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan mesó
  • mesóelementary particle
Chinese Mandarin 介子
  • 介子 (jièzǐ)elementary particle
Dutch meson
  • mesonelementary particle
Esperanto mezono
  • mezonoelementary particle
Finnish mesoni
  • mesonielementary particle
French méson
  • mésonelementary particle
German Meson
  • Mesonelementary particle
Hindi मध्याणु
  • मध्याणु (madhyāṇu)elementary particle
Italian mesone
  • mesoneelementary particle
Japanese 中間子, メソン
  • 中間子 (chūkanshi)elementary particle
  • メソン (meson)elementary particle
  • メゾン (mezon)elementary particle
Lithuanian mezonas
  • mezonaselementary particle
Norwegian Bokmål meson
  • mesonelementary particle
Polish mezon
  • mezonelementary particle
Portuguese mesão, méson
  • mesãoelementary particle
  • mésonelementary particle
Russian мезо́н
  • мезо́н (mezón)elementary particle
Swedish meson
  • mesonelementary particle
Tagalog tungapik
  • tungapikelementary particle
Tamil இடையி
  • இடையி (iṭaiyi)elementary particle
Turkish mezon
  • mezonelementary particle

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

monessemonEmsonEmonssomen
Cite this entry
APA

meson. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meson

MLA

“meson.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meson. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “meson,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/meson.

Source: meson on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.