lepton

(leptän′)

noun pl. lepta

  1. a small coin of ancient Greece
  2. a former monetary unit of modern Greece, equal to of a drachma

Origin: Gr < leptos, thin, small < lepein, to peel: see leper

noun

Particle Physics any of a class of fermions subject to the weak interaction but not the strong interaction, as the electron, neutrino, muon, or tau particle

Origin: lept(o)- + -on

Related Forms:

See lepton in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
Any of a family of elementary particles that participate in the weak interaction, including the electron, the muon, and their associated neutrinos. See Table at subatomic particle.

Origin:

Origin: lepto-

Origin: + -on1

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Related Forms:

  • lep·tonˈic (-tŏnˈĭk) adjective

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