antiparticle
|an-ti-par-ti-cle|
🇺🇸
/ˈæn.tiˌpɑːr.tɪ.kəl/
🇬🇧
/ˈæn.tiˌpɑː.tɪ.kəl/
opposite counterpart of a particle
Etymology
'antiparticle' originates from the combining form 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against, opposite') and the noun 'particle' (from Latin 'particula', diminutive of 'pars' meaning 'part' or 'small part').
'particle' came into English via Old French 'particule' from Latin 'particula'; 'antiparticle' is a modern scientific coinage formed by combining 'anti-' with 'particle' in the 20th century.
Initially, 'particle' meant 'a small part'; over time it evolved to mean 'a small constituent of matter', and 'antiparticle' came to mean the counterpart of a particle with opposite quantum properties.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a particle that has the same mass as a given particle but opposite electric charge and other quantum numbers; the counterpart of that particle (e.g., the positron is the antiparticle of the electron).
The antiparticle of the electron is the positron.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/06 03:42