noun
Technical term used in medicine, biology, and computing to describe a hidden or inactive state that can become active later.
このウイルスは潜伏性が長いことで知られている。
This virus is known for its long latency period.
潜伏性の感染
Latent infections are hard to notice until symptoms appear.
潜伏期間 specifically refers to the incubation or latency period, while 潜伏性 describes the characteristic of latency itself.
Compound of 潜伏 (latent, dormant) and 性 (nature, property). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word follows a common pattern for forming technical nouns.