There are six types of quarks, known as flavors.
Why where these types called flavors?
Why do the flavors have such odd names (up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom)?
It is important to remember that words like this get used in spit-balling sessions and then stick. You have to think of a couple of guy sitting by a black board, coffee in hand saying something like
OK, OK! SO that doesn't work. But what if we assume these things come in three flavors and ...
It's just a word made up on the spot.
That said, I think that "up" and "down" came from an analogy with spin. "Strange" interaction were so called because they violated rules of thumb for other known interactions...
After that things got out of hand.
Side note: "flavor" is also used to distinguish the generation of leptons (and will no doubt be applied to any sterile neutrinos that make an appearance).
Side note2: For a long time there were competing names for the third generation flavors. I'm a little sad that "top" and "bottom" won out against "truth" and "beauty".
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