From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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 Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Latent \La"tent\ (l[=a]"tent), a. [L. latens, -entis, p. pr. of
latere to lie hid or concealed; cf. Gr. lanqa`nein, E.
lethargy: cf. F. latent.]
1. Not visible or apparent; hidden; concealed; secret;
dormant; as, latent springs of action.
[1913 Webster]
The evils latent in the most promising contrivances
are provided for as they arise. --Burke.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Med.) Existing but not presenting symptoms; dormant or
developing; -- of disease, especially infectious diseases;
as, the latent phase of an infection.
[PJC]
{Latent buds} (Bot.), buds which remain undeveloped or
dormant for a long time, but may eventually grow.
{Latent heat} (Physics), that quantity of heat which
disappears or becomes concealed in a body while producing
some change in it other than rise of temperature, as
fusion, evaporation, or expansion, the quantity being
constant for each particular body and for each species of
change; the amount of heat required to produce a change of
phase.
{Latent period}.
(a) (Med.) The regular time in which a disease is supposed
to be existing without manifesting itself.
(b) (Physiol.) One of the phases in a simple muscular
contraction, in which invisible preparatory changes
are taking place in the nerve and muscle.
(c) (Biol.) One of those periods or resting stages in the
development of the ovum, in which development is
arrested prior to renewed activity.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
latent period
n 1: the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response
to it [syn: {reaction time}, {response time}, {latency},
{latent period}]
2: the time that elapses before the presence of a disease is
manifested by symptoms
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