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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Equivalent

E-quiv'a-lent, a.

adjective

a. [Fr. équivalent, Pr. equivalent, Sp., Pg., & It. equivalente, Lat. æquivalens, p. pr. of æquivalere, to have equal power, from æquus, equal, and valere, to be strong, to be worth or of value.]

Sense 1. Equal in value, worth, force, power, effect, import, and the like; alike in significance and value; interchangeable.

For now to serve and to minister, servile and ministerial are terms equivalent. South.

Sense 2. (Geom.) Equal in dimensions, but not superposable; as, equivalent magnitudes.

Sense 3. (Geol.) Contemporaneous in origin; as, the equivalent strata of different countries. Dana.

E-quiv'a-lent, n.

noun

n. 1. That which is equal in value, weight, dignity, or force; as, to offer an equivalent for damage done. Rogers. 2. (Chem.) The atomic weight of a substance, or a number which expresses the proportion by weight in which it combines with other substances. Thus, oxygen and hydrogen combine in the proportions of 1 to 8 to form water, and taking 1 as the equivalent of hydrogen, 8 is the equivalent of oxygen.