lent
/lɛnt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.75 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
simple past and past participle of lend
noun
A period of the ecclesiastical year preceding Easter, traditionally involving temporary abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
noun
A period of the ecclesiastical year preceding Easter, traditionally involving temporary abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
noun
A period of the ecclesiastical year preceding Easter, traditionally involving temporary abstention from certain foods and pleasures.
noun
vassa, period of the Buddhist lent during the rainy season
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "Hezekiah gave up vaping for Lent."
- "This Tuesday and Wednesday, four holidays from different cultures and religions overlap in a rare calendar year. The celebrations of Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) and Lunar New Year both occur on Tuesday, Feb. 17 [2026]. This won't happen again until Feb. 13, 2029, according to the websites chinahighlights.com and mardigrasneworleans.com. Ramadan is expected to start Tuesday evening, pending official confirmation, and Lent ([which begins on] Ash Wednesday) begins on Feb. 18. Last year, Ramadan and Lent began within a week of each other on Feb. 28 and March 5. The holidays are all happening within two days this year because several long solar, lunar and lunisolar calendar cycles sync up. Lunar New Year happens on the second new moon after winter solstice, which is also Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) — 47 days before Easter Sunday."
Etymology
Shortened form of Lenten, from Old English lencten, from Proto-West Germanic *langatīn (“spring”), as in a season into which days lengthen as it progresses. Cognate with Alemannic German langsé, Langssi (“spring”), Bavarian longas, lòngas, longast (“spring”), Cimbrian langaz, langhes, långez (“spring”), lentz (“March”), Dutch lente (“spring”), German Lenz, Lenze (“spring”), Mòcheno langes (“spring”).
Origin
- Source language: Old English
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in People.