Latent
Etymology
From Latin “latens,” the present participle of “latere,” to lie hidden (the root also behind “latency”). What is latent lies low, out of sight, until something calls it out.
adjective · /LAY-tuhnt/
Present but hidden or inactive, capable of emerging under the right conditions.
What it names
Potential in waiting — a quality, demand, or fault that exists now but has not yet shown itself.
Example
The redesign uncovered a latent demand nobody had thought to measure.
Related idea
What is latent is hidden but present; what is manifest is out in the open and evident. Freud paired them exactly: a dream’s latent content lies beneath its manifest content.