- 1 (chemistry) a measurement of the power of an atom to combine with others, by the number of hydrogen atoms it can combine with or displace Carbon has a valency of 4. Wordfinderatomantiparticle, atom, electron, ion, neutron, nucleus, particle, positron, proton, valency Wordfinderchemistryacid, catalyst, chemistry, compound, formula, molecule, pH, react, solution, valency
- 2 (linguistics) the number of grammatical elements that a word, especially a verb, combines with in a sentence Word Originearly 17th cent.: from late Latin valentia ‘power, competence’, from valere ‘be well or strong’.
valency
nounBrE BrE//ˈveɪlənsi//; NAmE NAmE//ˈveɪlənsi//
[countable, uncountable] (pl. valencies) (also valence BrE BrE//ˈveɪləns//; NAmE NAmE//ˈveɪləns//
especially in North American English)Check pronunciation: valency
