valence

valence · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*h₂welh₁-“to rule; powerful, strong”
2. Latin · derived fromvalentia“bodily strength; health; vigour”
3. Latin · derived fromquantus“how much”
4. German · borrowed fromValenz
5. English todayvalence

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.

valence · noun²

A variant of valance.

Valence · proper noun³

1. French · borrowed fromValence
2. English todayValence

Borrowed from French Valence. Doublet of Valencia.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1884 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.
• from early 20th c. 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).