valency

[ vey-luhn-see ]

noun,plural va·len·cies.Chemistry.

Words Nearby valency

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use valency in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for valency

valency

esp US and Canadian valence

/ (ˈveɪlənsɪ) /


nounplural -cies or -ces
  1. chem a property of atoms or groups, equal to the number of atoms of hydrogen that the atom or group could combine with or displace in forming compounds

  2. linguistics the number of satellite noun phrases with which a verb combines: the English verb `give' takes a subject and two objects, so it has a valency of three

  1. immunol

    • the number of antigen-binding sites on an antibody molecule

    • the number of antigen-binding sites with which an antigen can combine

Origin of valency

1
C19: from Latin valentia strength, from valēre to be strong

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012