Definition: latency

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7 

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]
     2: the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to
        it [syn: reaction time, response time, latent period]
     3: the state of being not yet evident or active

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 

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

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

Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10) 

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)