Lent
Lent (lent) , imperfect and past participle
imp. & past participle of Lend.
Lent , noun
[Old English lente, lenten, leynte, Anglo-Saxon lengten, lencten, spring, lent, akin to Dutch lente, Old High German lenzin, langiz, German lenz, and perh. from Anglo-Saxon lang long, English long, because at this season of the year the days lengthen.]
(Ecclesiastical) A fast of forty days, beginning with Ash Wednesday and continuing till Easter, observed by some Christian churches as commemorative of the fast of our Savior.
Collocations (1)
Lent lily (Botany) , the daffodil; -- so named from its blossoming in spring.
Lent , adjective
[Latin lentus; akin to lenis soft, mild: compare French lent. See Lenient.]
1.
Slow; mild; gentle; as, lenter heats. [Obsolete] — B. Jonson
2.
(Music) See Lento.