What is "lent"

Lend \Lend\ (l[e^]nd), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lent (l[e^]nt); p. pr. & vb. n. Lending.] [OE. lenen, AS. l[=ae]nan, fr. l[=ae]n loan; akin to G. lehnen to lend. See Loan.]

1. To allow the custody and use of, on condition of the return of the same; to grant the temporary use of; as, to lend a book; -- opposed to borrow.

   Give me that ring. I'll lend it thee, my dear, but have no power To give it from me.
   --Shak.

2. To allow the possession and use of, on condition of the return of an equivalent in kind; as, to lend money or some article of food.

   Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase.
   --Levit. xxv. 37.

3. To afford; to grant or furnish in general; as, to lend assistance; to lend one's name or influence.

   Cato, lend me for a while thy patience.
   --Addison.

   Mountain lines and distant horizons lend space and largeness to his compositions.
   --J. A. Symonds.

4. To let for hire or compensation; as, to lend a horse or gig.

   Note: This use of the word is rare in the United States, except with reference to money.

   To lend a hand, to give assistance; to help. [Colloq.]

   To lend one's ears or To lend an ear, to give attention.

Lent \Lent\ (l[e^]nt), imp. & p. p. of Lend.

Lent \Lent\, n. [OE. lente, lenten, leynte, AS. lengten, lencten, spring, lent, akin to D. lente, OHG. lenzin, langiz, G. lenz, and perh. fr. AS. lang long, E. long, because at this season of the year the days lengthen.] (Eccl.) 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.

Lent lily (Bot.), the daffodil; -- so named from its blossoming in spring.

Lent \Lent\, a. [L. lentus; akin to lenis soft, mild: cf. F. lent. See Lenient.]

1. Slow; mild; gentle; as, lenter heats. [Obs.]
   --B. Jonson.

2. (Mus.) See Lento.

late 14c., short for Lenten (n.) "forty days before Easter" (early 12c.), from Old English lencten "springtime, spring," the season, also "the fast of Lent," from West Germanic *langa-tinaz "long-days" (cognate with Old Saxon lentin, Middle Dutch lenten, Old High German lengizin manoth), from *lanngaz (root of Old English lang "long;" see long (adj.)) + *tina-, a root meaning "day" (compare Gothic sin-teins "daily"), cognate with Old Church Slavonic dini, Lithuanian diena, Latin dies "day" (see diurnal).\n

\nthe compound probably refers to the increasing daylight. Compare similar form evolution in Dutch lente (Middle Dutch lentin), German Lenz (Old High German lengizin) "spring." Church sense of "period between Ash Wednesday and Easter" is peculiar to English.

vb. (en-past of: lend)

1. v. bestow a quality on; "Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company"; "The music added a lot to the play"; "She brings a special atmosphere to our meetings"; "This adds a light note to the program" [syn: impart, bestow, contribute, add, bring]

2. give temporarily; let have for a limited time; "I will lend you my car"; "loan me some money" [syn: loan] [ant: borrow]

3. have certain characteristics of qualities for something; be open or vulnerable to; "This story would lend itself well to serialization on television"; "The current system lends itself to great abuse"

4. [also: lent]

See lend

Lent, in Western Christianity, the period before the Christian holy day of Easter.

Lent may also refer to:

Lent (album) is the first Album by Dallas Crane, released in 1998. However, this album has become very rare these days.

Lent ( Latin: Quadragesima: Fortieth) is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, doing penance, repentance of sins, almsgiving, atonement, and self-denial. This event is observed by Christians in the Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist, and Roman Catholic Churches. Some Anabaptist and evangelical churches also observe the Lenten season. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the tradition and events of the New Testament beginning on Friday of Sorrows, further climaxing on Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, which ultimately culminates in the joyful celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxuries as a form of penitence. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual discipline, such as reading a daily devotional, to draw themselves near to God. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ's carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches remove flowers from their altars, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious symbols are often veiled in violet fabrics in solemn observance of the event. Throughout Christendom, some adherents mark the season with the traditional abstention from the consumption of meat, most notably among Roman Catholics.

Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, before beginning his public ministry, after which he endured temptation by the Devil.