valence

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin valentia (“strength, capacity”),^[2][3][4][5] Late Latin in Merriam-Webster's view,^[6] from valēns (“strong, vigorous”), the present participle of valeō (“to be strong”),^[3][4][6][5] from Proto-Indo-European *wal- (“to be strong”).^[3][4] The Shorter Oxford treats it as a variant of valency, with the suffix -ence.^[7] The chemical sense follows German Valenz, used by H. Wichelhaus in 1868, from Quantivalenz, used by A. W. Hofmann in 1865,^[2] both from the Latin word.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A medicinal extract or preparation made from a herb: c. 1425, in the translation of Arderne's treatise on fistula, which names a valence of scabious and a valence of wormwood.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The early senses died out: the herbal preparation is recorded only in late Middle English, and the sense valour or courage only once, before 1604.^[2][7] The modern word is a fresh use in chemistry, the combining power of an atom, taken from German in 1884;^[2][3][6] valency had been used in the same sense since 1869.^[5] In the 20th century the word passed into psychology, for the emotional force with which a person invests an object or event, its power to attract or repel (1917),^[2][7] and into linguistics, for the number of elements a verb combines with (mid 20th century).^[7] Merriam-Webster also records the general sense of a relative capacity to unite, react or interact, as with antigens.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1425 – a medicinal preparation made from a herb (obsolete).^[2][8]
• before 1604 – valour, courage (obsolete).^[2]
• 1884 – in chemistry, the combining power of an element.^[2][5][6]
• 1917 – in psychology, emotional force or attraction.^[2]
• mid 20th century – in linguistics, the valency of a verb.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. In chemistry, the combining power of an atom or radical, measured by the number of hydrogen atoms (or other single-bonding atoms) it can combine with or replace; also its oxidation state.^[6][10][2]
2. The ability of atoms to form chemical bonds.^[10]
3. A relative capacity to unite, react or interact, as with antigens.^[9]
4. In psychology, the emotional pull of an object, event or activity, the degree to which it attracts or repels.^[9][2][7]
5. In linguistics, the number of elements, such as a subject and objects, with which a verb combines; valency.^[7]
6. (obsolete, c. 1425) A medicinal extract made from a herb.^[2][8][7]
7. (obsolete) Valour, courage.^[2][7]

Word family

• covalence
• univalence
• ambivalence
• multivalence
• valence band
• valence electron
• valence shell

Related words

• -valent
• valency
• valiance
• valance

Usage notes

In chemistry valence is the usual American and Canadian form, and valency the usual British one.^[10] A different valence, a thin woven fabric, probably named after Valence on the Rhône, or possibly Valenciennes, is known only from Chaucer's Parliament of Fowls, where a figure is covered with a fine kerchief of Valence.^[2][8] Valence is also a spelling of valance, a short drapery or curtain.^[11][12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
9. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
11. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House