-lent

¹ American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, variant of -ulent.

   pestilent.

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lent ² American  

[lent] / lɛnt /

verb

1. simple past tense and past participle of lend.

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Lent ³ American  

[lent] / lɛnt /

noun

1. (in the Christian religion) an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter, observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, and certain other churches.

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lent ¹ British  

/ lɛnt /

verb

1. the past tense and past participle of lend

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Lent ² British  

/ lɛnt /

noun

1. Christianity the period of forty weekdays lasting from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, observed as a time of penance and fasting commemorating Jesus' fasting in the wilderness

2. (modifier) falling within or associated with the season before Easter

   Lent observance

3. (plural) (at Cambridge University) Lent term boat races

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Lent Cultural  

1. In Christianity, a time of fasting and repentance in the spring, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending several weeks later on Easter.

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Usage

What is Lent? Lent is the season of fasting and penitence that precedes Easter in some branches of Christianity.It is commonly observed by abstaining from certain things.

Discover More

To “give something up for Lent” is to abandon a pleasurable habit as an act of devotion and self-discipline.

Other Word Forms

• post-Lent adjective
• unlent adjective
• well-lent adjective

Etymology

Origin of Lent

First recorded before 900; Middle English leynte, Old English læncte “spring, springtime, Lent,” literally, “lengthening (of daylight hours)”; cognate with Dutch lente(n), German Lenz “spring” (only English has the ecclesiastical sense); Lenten, long ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

He lent his support for such a move again on Monday, which would push borrowing costs down at least 50 basis points — or half a percentage point — from where they are now.

From MarketWatch

It also showed that Margam - "a place that may even have lent its name to the historic region of Glamorgan" - was "one of the most important centres of power in Wales".

From BBC

In a second case in Milan, prosecutors said Aventall had made payments "of an allegedly corrupt nature" to Enviro Pacific Investments - the company which lent the money for the Sunninghill purchase.

From BBC

Pace Mr. Miller, it didn’t advocate freedom for the sake of freedom, or elections as a good in themselves, even if the overwrought text of Mr. Bush’s Second Inaugural address lent itself to that parody.

From The Wall Street Journal

An equipment financing company from Utah lent money to First Brands at “usurious” rates that returned over 300% as part of a kickback scheme with a top executive, according to the official committee of the auto-parts supplier’s creditors.

From The Wall Street Journal