valency
/ˈveɪlənsi/
noun
- The combining power of an element, measured by the number of hydrogen atoms it can combine with or displace.
- Carbon has a valency of four, allowing it to form many different compounds.
- Oxygen typically has a valency of two in most molecules.
- In chemistry class, we learned how to calculate the valency of an atom.
- The number of grammatical arguments (such as subject, object) that a verb can take.
- Intransitive verbs have a valency of one, needing only a subject.
- In linguistics, valency describes how many participants a verb requires.
- The verb 'give' has a valency of three: subject, direct object, and indirect object.
Synonyms