nucleon

N1U1C3L1E1O1N1
/ˈn(j)uːkliɒn/

noun

A proton (uud) or a neutron (udd).

OriginEnglish electronbf. ← Ancient Greek ἰόν (ión) ← Proto-Hellenic *éimi →
Less commonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nounnucleon (plural nucleons)

plural nucleons · alternative obsolete nucleone

  1. A proton (uud) or a neutron (udd).

Origin

  1. Proto-Italic*knuks
  2. Latinnux
  3. Latinnucleu
  4. Englishnucleus
  5. Ancient Greekἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron)
  6. Latinēlectrum
  7. New Latinēlectricus
  8. Englishelectric
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ey-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éyti
  11. Proto-Hellenic*éimi
  12. Ancient Greekἰόν (ión)
  13. Englishion
  14. Englishelectronbf.
  15. Englishnucleon

From nucleus + -on.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque nukleoi
  • nukleoia proton or a neutron
Brazilian Portuguese núcleon
  • núcleona proton or a neutron
Bulgarian нуклон
  • нуклон (nuklon)a proton or a neutron
Catalan nucleó
  • nucleóa proton or a neutron
Chinese 核子
  • 核子 (hézǐ)a proton or a neutron
Czech nukleon
  • nukleona proton or a neutron
Danish nukleon
  • nukleona proton or a neutron
European Portuguese nucleão
  • nucleãoa proton or a neutron
Finnish nukleoni, ydinhiukkanen
  • nukleonia proton or a neutron
  • ydinhiukkanena proton or a neutron
French nucléon
  • nucléona proton or a neutron
German Nukleon
  • Nukleona proton or a neutron
Greek νουκλεόνιο
  • νουκλεόνιο (noukleónio)a proton or a neutron
Italian nucleone
  • nucleonea proton or a neutron
Japanese 核子
  • 核子 (kakushi)a proton or a neutron
Korean 핵자
  • 핵자 (haekja)a proton or a neutron
Latvian nukleons
  • nukleonsa proton or a neutron
Polish nukleon
  • nukleona proton or a neutron
Romanian nucleon
  • nucleona proton or a neutron
Russian нукло́н
  • нукло́н (nuklón)a proton or a neutron
Spanish nucleón
  • nucleóna proton or a neutron
Swedish nukleon
  • nukleona proton or a neutron
Yiddish נוקלעאָן
  • נוקלעאָן (nukleon)a proton or a neutron
Cite this entry
APA

nucleon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nucleon

MLA

“nucleon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nucleon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “nucleon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/nucleon.

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