latency

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

latency
    n 1: (computer science) the time it takes for a specific block
         of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write
         head [syn: {rotational latency}, {latency}]
    2: the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to
       it [syn: {reaction time}, {response time}, {latency}, {latent
       period}]
    3: the state of being not yet evident or active

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Latency \La"ten*cy\, n. [See {Latent}.]
   1. The state or quality of being latent.
      [1913 Webster]

            To simplify the discussion, I shall distinguish
            three degrees of this latency.        --Sir W.
                                                  Hamilton.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The time between a stimulus the appearance of the
      response; the time between any causal action and the first
      appearance of the effect. Called also {latent period}.
      [PJC]

   3. Hence: (Med.) The time between exposure to a carcinogen or
      other disease-causing agent and the appearance of the
      consequent disease.
      [PJC]

from The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)

latency

   <communications> 1. The time it takes for a {packet} to cross
   a network connection, from sender to receiver.

   2. The period of time that a frame is held by a network device
   before it is forwarded.

   Two of the most important parameters of a communications
   channel are its latency, which should be low, and its
   {bandwidth}, which should be high.  Latency is particularly
   important for a {synchronous} {protocol} where each packet
   must be acknowledged before the next can be transmitted.

   (2000-02-27)

from Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0

37 Moby Thesaurus words for "latency":
      abeyance, apathy, catalepsy, catatonia, cold storage, deadliness,
      deathliness, delitescence, doldrums, dormancy, entropy,
      indifference, indolence, inertia, inertness, intermission,
      interruption, languor, latent content, latent meaningfulness,
      latentness, lotus-eating, passiveness, passivity, possibility,
      potentiality, quiescence, quiescency, stagnancy, stagnation,
      stasis, suspense, suspension, torpor, vegetation, virtuality,
      vis inertiae

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