Hexavalent

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a valence of six, this term describes an element that can form six chemical bonds
2. It characterizes compounds that involve an element capable of sharing or lending six electrons
3. This word is applied to molecules or ions where the central atom exhibits a valency of six electrons in bonding processes

Etymology: "Hexavalent" is built from two parts that are both Greek-derived. The first, "hexa-", comes from the Greek "hex", meaning six, and the second, "-valent", comes from the Latin "valens", the present participle of "valere", meaning to be strong or have worth. In chemistry, valence measures how many bonds an atom can form, so a hexavalent element can form six. The word is a straightforward technical coinage: a prefix added to a chemical term, with no single inventor or famous first use to credit. The more interesting detail is its relation to "sexavalent", a near-twin with the same meaning. The Latin root for six, "sex", gives "sexavalent", while the Greek "hex-" gives "hexavalent". English chemists ended up with both forms, which makes them what linguists call a piecewise doublet: two words that match in meaning but were each assembled from different halves, one Latin and one Greek, so the pair does not correspond part for part.