valence

English

Wikipedia

Etymology 1

• (extract, preparation):, from Latin valentia (“strength, capacity”), c. 1425
• (combining capacity):, from German valentz, c. 1884

Alternative forms

• valency (mostly UK):

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈveɪləns/

Noun

valence (plural valences)

1. (chemistry, obsolete) An extract; a preparation.
2. (chemistry) The combining capacity of an atom, radical or functional group determined by the number of electrons that it will lose, gain, or share when it combines with other atoms etc
3. (chemistry) The number of binding sites of a molecule, such as an antibody or antigen
4. (linguistics) The number of arguments that a verb can have, including the subject of the verb in the counting, ranging from zero (for the likes of "It rains") to three (for the likes of "He gives her a flower").
5. (psychology) A one-dimensional value assigned to an object, situation, or state, that can usually be positive or negative
6. (sociology) value

Synonyms

• (chemistry): valency
• (linguistics): valency

Derived terms

terms derived from valence

primary valence secondary valence polyvalence

Related terms

• valent
• -valent

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Czech: valence f
• Finnish: valenssi
• French: valence f

• Portuguese: valência f
• Swedish: valens c

Etymology 2

This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvæləns/

Noun

valence (plural valences)

1. Alternative spelling of valance.

See also

• valance

References

• Online Etymology Dictionary

Anagrams

• enclave

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Czech

Noun

valence f

1. valence, valency (chemistry)
2. valence, valency (linguistics)

Derived terms

• valenční

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French

Etymology

From Latin valentia, German -valenz.

Noun

valence f (plural valences)

1. valence

Anagrams

• enclave, enclavé