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valency

[vey-luh n-see]
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noun, plural va·len·cies. Chemistry.
  1. valence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for valency

Historical Examples

  • It is equal to the molecular weight of the ion, divided by 96.537 times its valency.

    The Mechanism of Life

    Stphane Leduc

  • It is the river Valency of which he speaks, the more important of the streams that join just above the haven.

    The Cornwall Coast

    Arthur L. Salmon

  • The term “valency” is not altogether an easy one to define; we will, however, here do our best to make plain its significance.

    Alchemy: Ancient and Modern

    H. Stanley Redgrove

  • Hydrogen, however, appears to be invariably univalent, and is therefore taken as the unit of valency.

    Alchemy: Ancient and Modern

    H. Stanley Redgrove

  • The phenomena of valency find their explanation in modern views concerning the constitution of atoms (see § 81).

    Alchemy: Ancient and Modern

    H. Stanley Redgrove

British Dictionary definitions for valency

valency

esp US and Canadian valence

noun plural -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 combinesthe English verb `give' takes a subject and two objects, so it has a valency of three
  3. immunol
    1. the number of antigen-binding sites on an antibody molecule
    2. the number of antigen-binding sites with which an antigen can combine

Word Origin

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