quantivalence

English

Etymology

From Latin quantus (“how much”) + English -i- (interfix inserted between morphemes of Latin origin for ease of pronunciation) + Latin valentia (“bodily strength; health; vigour”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to rule; powerful, strong”)) + -ence (suffix meaning ‘having the condition or state of’), 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 from which valence is derived.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kwɒnˈtɪvəl(ə)ns/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kwɑnˈtɪvələns/, /kwɑnˈtɪvləns/
• Hyphenation: quant‧i‧val‧ence

Noun

quantivalence (countable and uncountable, plural quantivalences)

1. (chemistry, historical) Synonym of valence (“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.”)
2. (by extension, generally) Equivalence measured quantitatively.

Alternative forms

• quantivalency

Related terms

• bivalent
• quadrivalent
• quinquivalent
• serralant
• trivalent
• univalent

Translations

synonym of valence — see valence

equivalence measured quantitatively

• Finnish: määrällinen yhtäläisyys
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• valence (chemistry) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia