latency

[ leyt-n-see ]

noun

, plural la·ten·cies.

1. the state of being latent.
2. latent period.
3. Computers. the period of delay when one component of a hardware system is waiting for an action to be executed by another component.
4. Digital Technology. the time required online or in a network for the one-way or round-trip transfer of data between two nodes.
5. Digital Technology. (in virtual reality and other types of simulation) the discrepancy between the time delay of stimulus and response in the simulation as compared to the real-world equivalent.

Word History and Origins

Origin of latency¹

First recorded in 1630–40; lat(ent) + -ency

Example Sentences

And thus it is that every Idealist, bleak and wintry as his mood may be, is conscious of the latency of spring.

From Project Gutenberg

Otherwise, in place of remaining in latency, they would assert themselves like men.

From Project Gutenberg

While those other mothers, by retaining such in latency, preserved them as a rich inheritance for male heirs.

From Project Gutenberg

The repression during the period of latency is an inner obstacle of this kind—or rather one which has become inner.

From Project Gutenberg

In other words it is the negative quality of passiveness either in recoverable latency or insipient latescence.

From Project Gutenberg