Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

valence

/ˈveɪləns/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.90 in modern English

Syllables
va-lence
IPA
/ˈveɪləns/
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The number of binding sites of a molecule, such as an antibody or antigen.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The number of arguments that a verb can have, including its subject, ranging from zero to three or, less commonly, four.

Countable

noun

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).

Uncountable

noun

The value which a person places on something.

Uncountable

noun

For a correspondence T on a curve: a number k such that the divisors T(P)+kP are all linearly equivalent.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

Alternative spelling of valance.

name

A city and commune, the capital of the department of Drôme, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology 1, noun sense 1.1 (“combining capacity of an atom”) and etymology 1, noun 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. Etymology 1, noun sense 2 (“number of arguments a verb can have”) was formed by analogy to the use of the word in chemistry: see above.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈveɪləns/
  • British English: /ˈveɪl(ə)ns/

Usage

Inflected Forms

valences (plural) valency (alternative)

Derived Forms

ambivalence bivalence covalence divalence equivalence hexavalence intervalence monovalence multivalence pentavalence polyvalence quadrivalence

Phrases

primary valence secondary valence social valence valence band valence bond valence electron valence isomer valence issue

Frequently Paired Words

quantivalence valent -valent ambitransitivity ditransitivity intransitivity transitivity

Synonyms

atomicity quantivalence quantivalency valency

Rhymes With

surveillance failance balance valance

Questions

How do you pronounce valence?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈveɪləns/.
What does valence mean?
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.
Where does valence come from?
It is traced to German.

How to pronounce valence

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “valence”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈveɪləns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “valence”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “valence” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.