dormancy Definition

dormant
adj

1. Temporarily quiet, inactive or out of use.

Thesaurus: inactive, inert, suspended, fallow, torpid, latent, inchoate, undeveloped; Antonym: active.
2. biol.
Denoting a living organism or a reproductive body such as a seed, spore or cyst that is in a resting state, especially in order to survive a period of unfavourable environmental conditions.

Derivative: dormancy
noun

Etymology: 16c, originally referring to heraldic images of sleeping animals : from Latin dormire to sleep.