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What Is The Difference Between Loan, Lend, Loaned, And Lent?The words loan and loaned are the present and past tenses of to loan. Lend and lent are the present and past tenses of to lend. As verbs, loan and lend are often used interchangeably. For example, “A bank loans people money to buy a home. It also lends borrowers money to buy a car.” Loan and lend also have identical meanings when they’re used …
RELATED WORDS
Related formsun·lent, adjectivewell-lent, adjective
Definition for lent (2 of 4)
Lent
[ lent ]
/ lɛnt /
noun
(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.
Origin of Lent
before 1000; Middle English lente(n), Old English lencten, lengten spring, Lent, literally, lengthening (of daylight hours); cognate with Dutch lente, German Lenz spring; see Lenten
Related formspost-Lent, adjective
Definition for lent (3 of 4)
lend
[ lend ]
/ lɛnd /
verb (used with object), lent, lend·ing.
to grant the use of (something) on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
to give (money) on condition that it is returned and that interest is paid for its temporary use.
to give or contribute obligingly or helpfully: to lend one's aid to a cause.
to adapt (oneself or itself) to something: The building should lend itself to inexpensive remodeling.
to furnish or impart: Distance lends enchantment to the view.
verb (used without object), lent, lend·ing.
to make a loan.
Origin of lend
before 900; Middle English lenden, variant (orig. past tense) of lenen, Old English lǣnan (cognate with Dutch lenen, German lehnen, Old Norse lāna), derivative of lǣn loan; cognate with German Lehnen, Old Norse lān. See loan1
Related formslend·er, nounin·ter·lend, verb, in·ter·lent, in·ter·lend·ing.o·ver·lend, verb, o·ver·lent, o·ver·lend·ing.re·lend, verb (used with object), re·lent, re·lend·ing.
Definition for lent (4 of 4)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for lent
British Dictionary definitions for lent (1 of 3)
British Dictionary definitions for lent (2 of 3)
Lent
/ (lɛnt) /
noun
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
(modifier) falling within or associated with the season before EasterLent observance
(plural) (at Cambridge University) Lent term boat races
Word Origin for Lent
Old English lencten, lengten spring, literally: lengthening (of hours of daylight)
British Dictionary definitions for lent (3 of 3)
lend
/ (lɛnd) /
verb lends, lending or lent (lɛnt)
Derived Formslender, noun
Word Origin for lend
C15 lende (originally the past tense), from Old English lǣnan, from lǣn loan 1; related to Icelandic lāna, Old High German lēhanōn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Culture definitions for lent
Lent
In Christianity, a time of fasting and repentance in the spring, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending several weeks later on Easter.
Note
To “give something up for Lent” is to abandon a pleasurable habit as an act of devotion and self-discipline.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.