E‐quiv″a‐lent (?), a. [L. aequivalens, -entis, p. pr. of aequivalere to have equal power; aequus equal + valere to be strong, be worth: cf. F. équivalent. See Equal, and Valiant.] 1. Equal in worth or value, force, power, effect, import, and the like; alike in significance and value; of the same import or meaning.
For now to serve and to minister, servile and ministerial, are terms equivalent. South.
2. (Geom.) Equal in measure but not admitting of superposition; — applied to magnitudes; as, a square may be equivalent to a triangle.
3. (Geol.) Contemporaneous in origin; as, the equivalent strata of different countries.