Pronunciation: (trī'ton), [key]
a positively-charged particle consisting of a proton and two neutrons, equivalent to the nucleus of an atom of tritium. Cf. deuteron.
Pronunciation: (trīt'n), [key]
1. Class. Myth.a son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, represented as having the head and trunk of a man and the tail of a fish, and as using a conch-shell trumpet.
2. Astron.a moon of Neptune.
3. (l.c.) any of various marine gastropods of the family Cymatiidae, having a large, spiral, often beautifully colored shell.
4. (l.c.) the shell of a triton.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.