Squark

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A hypothetical particle predicted by supersymmetry theory, carrying the same charges as a quark but with spin differing by half a unit
2. A theorized subatomic particle that serves as the supersymmetric counterpart of a quark, with a spin that differs by one half
3. In particle physics, a speculative heavy boson-like partner of a quark that supersymmetry models propose but experiments have not yet detected

Etymology: "Squark" is a physics coinage, built by adding the prefix "s-" to "quark." The "quark" in question is the subatomic particle, a name that came from James Joyce's novel "Finnegans Wake" and was adopted by the physicist Murray Gell-Mann in 1964. The "s-" comes from the strange quark, the lighter of the particle's two heavier flavours, so the term is essentially shorthand for a hypothetical partner of the quark. The "s-" prefix is a convention in particle physics, where hypothetical superpartners of known particles are named by attaching "s-" to the original name. Thus a supersymmetric partner of the electron is the "selectron," and a partner of the quark is the "squark." The word therefore describes a particle predicted by supersymmetry theory rather than one that has been directly observed.