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valence . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
valence , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
valence in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
valence you have here. The definition of the word
valence will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
valence , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
A valence diagram of methane showing that one carbon atom can combine with a maximum of four hydrogen atoms, or that it makes four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds , which means that it has a valence (sense 1.1 ) of four or is tetravalent .
Sense 1.1 (“combining capacity of an atom”) and sense 3 (“one-dimensional value assigned by a person to an object, situation, or state”) are borrowed from German Valenz + English -ence ( suffix meaning ‘having the condition or state of’) . Valenz is a clipping of Quantivalenz ( “ (archaic ) valence in chemistry ” ) , from English quantivalence , from Latin quantus ( “ how much ” ) + English -i- ( interfix inserted between morphemes of Latin origin for ease of pronunciation) + Latin valentia ( “ bodily strength; health; vigour ” ) (whence Late Middle English valence ( “ medicinal preparation made from plants ” ) ; ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- ( “ to rule; powerful, strong ” ) ). Quantivalence was coined by F. O. Ward who communicated it to the German chemist August Wilhelm von Hofmann (1818–1892), leading him to coin the German word Quantivalenz . Doublet of value .
Sense 2 (“number of arguments a verb can have”) was formed by analogy to the use of the word in chemistry: see above.
Pronunciation
Noun
valence (countable and uncountable , plural valences )
Examples (linguistics)
“It rains” – the verb rain has a valence of zero. (It is merely a dummy subject which cannot be replaced by any other subject.)
“He is sleeping” – sleep has a valence of one as it takes one argument.
“Dhannea discovered a new species of frog” – discover has a valence of two.
“Bob gives Alice a flower” – give has a valence of three.
“I bet you five dollars he’ll kill you dead” – bet has a valence of four.
( countable , chemistry )
The combining capacity of an atom , functional group , or radical determined by the number of atoms of hydrogen with which it will unite , or the number of electrons that it will gain , lose , or share when it combines with other atoms, etc.
Synonyms: ( historical ) atomicity , ( historical ) quantivalence , ( historical ) quantivalency , valency
The number of binding sites of a molecule , such as an antibody or antigen .
( countable , linguistics ) The number of arguments that a verb can have, including its subject , ranging from zero to three or, less commonly , four .
Synonym: valency
In this assignment you will analyze each of the following sentences and determine the valence of the highlighted verb.
( uncountable , especially psychology ) A one-dimensional value assigned by a person to an object , situation , or state , that can usually be positive (causing a feeling of attraction ) or negative (repulsion ).
anger and fear have negative valence
( uncountable , sociology ) The value which a person places on something.
Alternative forms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
combining capacity of an atom, functional group, or radical
number of binding sites of a molecule
number of arguments that a verb can have
one-dimensional value assigned to an object, situation, or state
value which a person places on something
See also
Etymology 2
A variant of valance .
Pronunciation
Noun
valence (plural valences )
Alternative spelling of valance
References
^ “valence, n. (2) ”, in MED Online , Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan , 2007 .
^ “valence, n. 2 ”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press , March 2023 ; “valence, n. ”, in Lexico , Dictionary.com ; Oxford University Press , 2019–2022 .
^ “quantivalence, n. ”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press , March 2022.
Further reading
Anagrams
Czech
Pronunciation
Noun
valence f
( chemistry ) valence , valency
Synonym: mocenství
( linguistics ) valence , valency
Declension
Declension of valence (soft feminine )
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
valence in Příruční slovník jazyka českého , 1935–1957
valence in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého , 1960–1971, 1989
valence in Akademický slovník cizích slov , 1995, at prirucka.ujc.cas.cz
French
Etymology
Back-formation from monovalence ., etc.
Pronunciation
Noun
valence f (plural valences )
( chemistry ) valence
( linguistics ) valency
See also
Further reading
Anagrams