An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

The → elementary particle that possesses the smallest possible negative → electric charge. This
structureless particle has an intrinsic → spin (1/2), a mass of 9.109 382 91 (40) x 10^-31 kg, and an electric charge of 1.602 176 565(35) × 10^-19 → coulombs, or 4.803 204 51(10) × 10^-10 → esu.

See also: Term first suggested in 1891 by Irish physicist G. J. Stoney (1826-1911); from electr-, from → electric + -on, a suffix used in the names of subatomic particles, probably extracted from → ion.