VALENCY

valence, valency

(noun) (chemistry) a property of atoms or radicals; their combining power given in terms of the number of hydrogen atoms (or the equivalent)

valence, valency

(noun) (biology) a relative capacity to unite or react or interact as with antigens or a biological substrate

valency

(noun) the phenomenon of forming chemical bonds

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

valency (countable and uncountable, plural valencies) (mostly UK)

(graph theory) The number of edges connected to a vertex in a graph.

Synonym: degree

(especially, chemistry) Valence.

(linguistics) The capacity of a verb to take a specific number of arguments.

Synonym: valence

The capacity of something to combine with other things.

Source: Wiktionary


Val"en*cy, n.; pl. Valencies (. (Chem.) (a) See Valence. (b) A unit of combining power; a so-called bond of affinity.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 June 2025

SQUARE

(adjective) having four equal sides and four right angles or forming a right angle; “a square peg in a round hole”; “a square corner”


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Coffee Trivia

There are four varieties of commercially viable coffee: Arabica, Liberica, Excelsa, and Robusta. Growers predominantly plant the Arabica species. Although less popular, Robusta tastes slightly more bitter and contains more caffeine.

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