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tri·ton¹

(trītn)

Any of various chiefly tropical predatory marine gastropod mollusks of the family Ranellidae, having a pointed, spirally twisted, often colorfully marked shell.

[Latin Trītōn, Triton (from representations of the sea god holding a conch shell); see TRITON.]

tri·ton²

(trītŏn′)

The nucleus of tritium, consisting of two neutrons and one proton.

[TRIT(IUM) + -ON¹.]

Tri·ton

(trītn)

1. Greek Mythology A god of the sea, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, portrayed as having the head and trunk of a man and the tail of a fish.

2. A satellite of Neptune.

[Latin Trītōn, from Greek.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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