A subatomic particle that holds quarks together and transmits the strong nuclear force, one of the fundamental particles in physics.
Coined in 1962 by physicist Murray Gell-Mann, from 'glue' + the particle suffix '-on' (as in electron, photon), because gluons metaphorically 'glue' quarks together.
Gell-Mann literally named a fundamental particle of the universe after household glue—and it stuck (pun intended)! This shows how physicists use everyday language to make invisible quantum forces understandable, and how a clever metaphor can become official scientific terminology.
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