'baryon' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'βαρύς' (transliterated 'barýs'), where the root meant 'heavy'.

'baryon' was formed in modern scientific English by combining the Greek root 'bar-' (from 'βαρύς') with the particle-naming suffix '-on' (as in 'electron' and 'meson'), becoming the term used in mid-20th-century physics to denote heavy subatomic particles.

Initially the root meant 'heavy', but over time the coined term 'baryon' came to denote a class of subatomic particles rather than the general sense of heaviness.