proton

Meaning

Noun

• A positively charged subatomic particle forming part of the nucleus of an atom and determining the atomic number of an element, composed of two up quarks and a down quark.
• Synonym of primordium

Related

Similar words

• p

Broader meaning words

• baryon
• nucleon

Origin

• From Ancient Greek πρῶτον, neuter of πρῶτος.
• in 1920, in analogy with electron (1891), and with an additional intention of honoring English chemist William Prout.
• (1893); a translation of based on Aristotle’s phrase he prote ousia to proton.