(adj)(digital communication) pertaining to a transmission technique that does not require a common clock between the communicating devices; timing signals are derived from special characters in the data stream itself, Ant.synchronous
(n)a means of digital communications that is capable of very high speeds; suitable for transmission of images or voice or video as well as data, Syn.ATM
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English (GCIDE) v.0.53Collaborative International Dictionary (GCIDE)
a. [ Gr. &unr_; not + synchronous. ] Not simultaneous; not concurrent in time; -- opposed to synchronous. Syn. -- nonsynchronous, unsynchronized, unsynchronous. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]
2. (Paleontology) occurring in different geologic times; -- of taxa/ synchronous Syn. -- allochronic [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]
3. chronologically misplaced; belonging to a different time or era Syn. -- anachronic, anachronous, anachronistic [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]
4. (Computers) occurring at different speeds in different computers connected by a data transmission link; -- said of methods data of transmission between computers. Opposite of synchronous. [ PJC ]