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.
Other meanings
The number of binding sites of a molecule, such as an antibody or antigen.
The number of arguments that a verb can have, including its subject, ranging from zero to three or, less commonly, four.
“In this assignment you will analyze each of the following sentences and determine the valence of the highlighted verb.”
Word history
From Latin "valentia" (bodily strength; health; vigour).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “valence” on Wiktionary, by its contributors, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.