Valence

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈveɪlÉ™ns/

• (extract, preparation), from Latin valentia ("strength, capacity") (1425)
• (combining capacity) from German Valenz (1884)

Alternative forms

• valency (mostly UK)

Full definition of valence

Noun

1. (chemistry, medicine, obsolete outside compounds) An extract; a preparation, now especially one effective against a certain number of strains of a pathogen.trivalent vaccine (one effective against three strains)
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

Related terms

• valent
• -valent

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈvælÉ™ns/

Noun

1. Alternative spelling of valance

Anagrams

• enclave