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triton definition

tri·ton (trī′tän′)

noun

the nucleus of the tritium atom containing one proton and two neutrons, used as a projectile in nuclear reactions

Etymology: Gr, neut. of tritos, third

Triton definition

Tri·ton (trīt′'n)

noun

  1. Gr. Myth. a sea god, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, represented as having the head and upper body of a man and the tail of a fish and as carrying a conch-shell trumpet
  2. Gr. Myth. one of many attendants of the sea gods
  3. the largest of Neptune's eight satellites
    1. any of a family (Cymatiidae) of large sea snails with a long, spiral shell, often brightly colored
    2. the shell

Etymology: L < Gr Tritōn; ? akin to OIr triath, sea

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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