lent Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
    Lententide.
  2. verb bestow a quality on
    lend; contribute; add; bring; bestow; impart.
    • 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
  3. verb give temporarily; let have for a limited time
    loan; lend.
    • I will lend you my car
    • loan me some money
  4. verb have certain characteristics of qualities for something; be open or vulnerable to
    lend.
    • This story would lend itself well to serialization on television
    • The current system lends itself to great abuse

WordNet

Lent
Definitions
  1. imp. & p. p. of Lend.
Lent noun
Etymology
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.
Definitions
  1. (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 adjective
Etymology
L. lentus; akin to lenis soft, mild: cf. F. lent. See Lenient.
Definitions
  1. Slow; mild; gentle; as, lenter heats. Obs. B.Jonson.
  2. (Mus.) See Lento.

Webster 1913