Lenten

American  

[len-tn] / ˈlɛn tn /

Or lenten

adjective

1. of, relating to, or suitable for Lent.

2. suggesting Lent, as in austerity, frugality, or rigorousness; meager.

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lenten British  

/ ˈlɛntən /

adjective

1. (often capital) of or relating to Lent

2. archaic spare, plain, or meagre

   lenten fare

3. archaic cold, austere, or sombre

   a lenten lover

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Etymology

Origin of Lenten

First recorded before 900; Middle English lente(n) “spring, springtime, Lent,” noun use of Old English noun and adjective lengten, læncgten, lencten “spring, springtime, Lent; of springtime, Lenten”; later taken as an adjective ending in -en; Lent, -en ²

Example Sentences

It allowed me to sing hallelujah in the Lenten season,” referring to the run-up to Easter.

From Salon

He traces his awareness of their potential to a moment, at the age of about 8, when his psychiatrist father took him to the Lenten carnival held every year at the mental hospital near where they lived in Valencia, Venezuela.

From New York Times

That didn’t include the readers who reached out to me after I wrote a column about Mami’s capirotada — Mexican Lenten bread pudding.

From Los Angeles Times

Diarmuid Ó Giolláin, professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA, said St Patrick's Day has always been marked not only because it was a celebration of the patron saint but also because a dispensation allowed the Lenten fast to be broken - meat to be eaten and alcohol drunk - whilst Christians everywhere else were fasting.

From BBC

Last week, Francis coughed repeatedly as he presided over Ash Wednesday services at a Roman church, and opted not to participate in the traditional procession that inaugurates the church’s Lenten season.

From Seattle Times