divalent

[ dahy-vey-luhnt ]

adjective

, Chemistry.

1. having a valence of two, as the ferrous ion, Fe ++ .

divalent

/ ˈdaɪˌveɪ-; daɪˈveɪlənt /

adjective

1. having a valency of two
2. having two valencies

Derived Forms

• diˈvalency, noun

Other Words From

• di·valence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of divalent¹

First recorded in 1865–70; di- ¹ + -valent

Example Sentences

"To date, no earth-based mineral has been reported to contain chromium in the divalent state as one of the components," said Subramanian, the Milton Harris Professor of Materials Science in the OSU College of Science.

From Science Daily

They are made of an A+ cation, a B2+ divalent cation, and an X- halide.

From Science Daily

An analysis showed that heavy divalent cations, like magnesium, bound to the latex particle membranes weighed down the particles -- until the connection eventually collapsed.

From Science Daily

As to the forces that held the chains together, the best guess seemed to be salt bridges in which divalent cations like Mg++ held together two or more phosphate groups.

From Literature

The adjective monovalent, divalent, trivalent, etc., is prefixed to an element to denote that the atom of this element combines with one, or two, or three, etc., atoms of hydrogen to form a compound molecule.

From Project Gutenberg