latency

[leyt-n-see] /ˈleɪt n si/
noun, plural latencies.
1.
the state of being latent.
2.
Computers. the time required to locate the first bit or character in a storage location, expressed as access time minus word time.
3.
latent period.
Origin
1630-40; lat(ent) + -ency
Examples from the web for latency
  • It definitely does not establish latency in either the liver or the lungs.
  • For starters, latency depends on bandwidth: for a given bit rate a large file will have higher latency than a smaller file.
  • There was a slight latency problem that caused some of the game controls to hiccup.
  • There is no weary celebration of the demonic here, no facile declaration of evil's universal latency.
  • The latency cannot be less than the distance the electromagnetic signal has to travel divided by the speed of light.
  • The new thermal sensor is digital, which means it has a bit of latency.
  • And then figuring out software compensations for that latency.
  • The aim is to reduce the delay between order and execution, known as latency.
  • The inherent latency in networks imposed by global distances limits us to applications that don't require instantaneous feedback.
  • The use of torture would aid latency while damaging all the others.
Word Origin and History for latency
n.

1630s, "condition of being concealed," from latent + -cy. Meaning "delay between stimulus and response" is from 1882; computer sense (latency time) is from 1954.

latency in Medicine

latency la·ten·cy (lāt'n-sē)
n.

  1. The state of being latent.

  2. In conditioning, the period of apparent inactivity between the time the stimulus is presented and the moment a response occurs.

  3. See latency phase.

latency in Technology

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)