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| va·lence [ váylənss ] (plural va·lenc·es) or va·len·cy [ váylənssee ] (plural va·len·cies) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. combining power of atoms: the combining power of atoms or groups measured by the number of electrons the atom or group will receive, give up, or share in forming a compound
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2. combining antigenic determinants: the number of different antigenic determinants with which a single antibody molecule can combine
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3. combining power of verb: the ability of a verb to combine grammatically with noun phrases in a given clause
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| [Late 19th century. Variant of valency] |
