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VALENCY
Definition of VALENCY
noun
Alternative form 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.”). The capacity of something to combine with other things, as for example the capability of a vaccine as measured by the number of pathogen serotypes that it can counteract.
noun
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.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Late Latin valentia and Latin valentia (“bodily strength; health; vigour”) + English -y (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state). Valentia is derived from valēns (“healthy, strong, vigorous”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns); while valēns is the present active participle of valeō (“to be healthy, sound, or well; to be strong; to have influence or power, etc.”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂welh₁- (“to rule; powerful, strong”). Sense 1 (“combining capacity of an atom”) and sense 3 (“number of arguments a verb can have”) are possibly from valence + -y.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Proto-Indo-European
- Latin
- English
2 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
3rd
of 58 source languages in OUTLIER
8.9%
of traced words share this origin (2,622)
How it is built
Same root, VALENCY · 1 relative in the game
Every Proto-Indo-European word → · The Word DNA of OUTLIER →
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
VALENCY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 28 boards so far. 46 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 21, 10 June 2026. The most recent board was Day 137, 4 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 11 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 21, 10 June 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
VALENCY starts with V and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read ACELNVY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Words that start VALENC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 21
Could you have found VALENCY?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 21 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER