valence, valency

(chemistry) a property of atoms or radicals; their combining power given in terms of the number of hydrogen atoms (or the equivalent)

• covalence, covalency — valence characterized by the sharing of electrons in a chemical compound; the number of pairs of electrons an atom can share

• power, powerfulness — possession of controlling influence

• monovalent, univalent — (chemistry) having a valence of 1
• polyvalent, multivalent — (chemistry) having more than one valence, or having a valence of 3 or higher