Latent

How to spell latent

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce latent

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does latent mean?

1. adjectivePresent but hidden or not yet active, with the potential to become apparent later.

Latent in a sentence

• The coaching drew out a latent talent for public speaking.

• The virus can remain latent in the body for years before symptoms appear.

Where does latent come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Latent comes from the Latin verb latere, which meant 'to lie hidden' or 'to be concealed', and its present participle latens (stem latent-) meant 'lying hidden'. English adopted it in the early 1600s to describe qualities that are present but not yet visible or active, exactly the sense it still carries today. The same Latin root surfaces in the word 'delitescent' and, more distantly, echoes the idea behind 'latebra', a Latin word for a hiding place. Because the word ends in the soft, unstressed '-ent' rather than '-ant', writers sometimes hesitate over the final vowel; remembering that it grew from latens, with that 'e', helps fix the ending. The literal image of something quietly lying in wait underpins all its modern uses, from a latent talent to a latent infection.

How the word is built

• lat- (from Latin latere: to lie hidden)
• -ent (adjective suffix denoting a state)