lepton

¹

[ lep-ton ]

noun

, plural lep·ta [lep, -t, uh].

1. an aluminum coin of modern Greece until the euro was adopted, one 100th of a drachma.
2. a small copper or bronze coin of ancient Greece.

lepton

²

[ lep-ton ]

noun

, Physics.

1. any of a class of particles with spin of ½ that are not subject to the strong force and that are believed to be truly elementary and not composed of quarks or other subunits. The leptons known or believed to exist are the electron and electron-neutrino, the muon and mu-neutrino, and the tau lepton and tau-neutrino.

lepton

¹

/ ˈlɛptɒn /

noun

1. physics any of a group of elementary particles and their antiparticles, such as an electron, muon, or neutrino, that participate in electromagnetic and weak interactions and have a half-integral spin

lepton

²

/ ˈlɛptɒn /

noun

1. a former Greek monetary unit worth one hundredth of a drachma
2. a small coin of ancient Greece

lepton

/ lĕp′tŏn′ /

1. Any of a family of elementary particles that interact through the weak force and do not participate in the strong force. Leptons include electrons, muons, tau particles, and their respective neutrinos, the electron neutrino, the muon neutrino, and the tau neutrino. The antiparticles of these six particles are also leptons.
2. Compare hadronSee Note at elementary particleSee Table at subatomic particle

lepton

1. Any one of six elementary particles that are one of the fundamental constituents of matter . Leptons are not affected by the strong force and are not normally found in the nucleus of the atom . The electron and the neutrino are examples of leptons.

Derived Forms

• lepˈtonic, adjective

Other Words From

• lep·tonic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lepton¹

First recorded in 1715–25; from Greek leptón (nómisma) “a small (coin),” noun use of neuter of leptós small; lepto-

Origin of lepton²

1948; < Greek, neuter of leptós small, slight; lepto-, -on ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lepton¹

C20: from lepto- + -on

Origin of lepton²

from Greek lepton ( nomisma ) small (coin)

Example Sentences

There are also “antimatter partners” of all quarks and leptons which are identical particles apart from an opposite charge.

From Singularity Hub 

Electrons and their heavier relatives, muons and taus, are leptons, as are a trio of light­weight particles called neutrinos.

From Science News

Now let’s turn to the leptons, the other kind of matter particles.

From Quanta Magazine

Leptons in different generations also occasionally interact in this manner.

From Quanta Magazine

A lepton is a very small brass Jewish coin worth half a Roman quadrans each, which is worth a quarter of the copper assarion.

From Project Gutenberg

The smallest copper coin in use among the Jews, the lepton, called in Hebrew chalcous, "copper money."

From Project Gutenberg

Lepton, lep′ton, n. the smallest of modern Greek coins, 100 to the drachma.

From Project Gutenberg

The game was thus played in 1810, and is so still, both here and at Lepton.

From Project Gutenberg