Lag

The difference in time between two events: one of which leads and the other which follows, called the lagging event. In statistics, lag is the time elapsed between repeating patterns in a time series. The statistical process of autocorrelation is a means for identifying repeating patterns, even those which may be overwhelmed by noise. In communications systems, lag and delay are essentially synonymous. Lags and delays are experienced in networks that are performing poorly due to inadequate processing power, poor router performance, or lack of required bandwidth. Lags of this sort can be very detrimental to gaming.