text: In coordination chemistry, denticity () refers to the number of donor groups in a given ligand that bind to the central metal atom in a coordination complex.  In many cases, only one atom in the ligand binds to the metal, so the denticity equals one, and the ligand is said to be monodentate (sometimes called unidentate). Ligands with more than one bonded atom are called polydentate or multidentate. The denticity of a ligand is described with the Greek letter κ (kappa).  For example, κ-EDTA describes an EDTA ligand that coordinates through 6 non-contiguous atoms.
  Denticity is different from hapticity because hapticity refers exclusively to ligands where the coordinating atoms are contiguous.  In these cases the η (eta) notation is used.  Bridging ligands use the μ (mu) notation.