Event loop

A programming construct that waits for and dispatches events or messages in a program, continuously checking for tasks to execute and handling them in order. It enables non-blocking, asynchronous execution in single-threaded environments.

Combines 'event' from Latin 'eventus' meaning outcome or occurrence, with 'loop' referring to the continuous cycling behavior. The concept became central to GUI programming in the 1980s and later to JavaScript's asynchronous model.