Lent

See also: lent

English

Etymology 1

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. Related to German Lenz and Dutch lente (“springtime”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛnt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛnt
• Homophones: leant, lent; lint (pin–pen merger)

Noun

Lent (plural Lents)

1. (Christianity) A period of the ecclesiastical year preceding Easter, traditionally involving temporary abstention from certain foods and pleasures.

   Hezekiah gave up vaping for Lent.

   1. (Eastern Christianity) The 40 days preceding Lazarus Saturday, the Saturday preceding Holy Week.
   2. (Roman Catholicism) The 46 days preceding Easter, reckoned as 40 days by excluding Sundays.
2. (UK, education) Ellipsis of Lent term.
3. (Buddhism, Myanmar) vassa, period of the Buddhist lent during the rainy season

Synonyms

• (Christianity): Lententide, Lent season, Lenten season, season of Lent, Quadragesima
• (Eastern Christianity): Great Lent
• (educational): Lent term

Hypernyms

• (Christianity): liturgical season, carene (rare)

Hyponyms

• (Roman Catholicism): Ash Wednesday (1st day), Quadragesima Sunday (1st Sunday), Reminiscere Sunday (2nd Sunday), Oculi Sunday (3rd Sunday), Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday), Passion Sunday (5th Sunday), Palm Sunday (6th Sunday), Holy Saturday (last day) (see terms for synonyms)
• (Eastern Orthodoxy): Clean Monday (1st day), Lazarus Friday (last day)

Translations

Christian period of penitence before Easter

• Arabic: الصَّوْم الْأَرْبَعِينِيّ m (aṣ-ṣawm al-ʔarbaʕīniyy), اَلصَّوْم اَلْكَبِير m (aṣ-ṣawm al-kabīr)
• Armenian: Մեծ Պահք (Mec Pahkʻ)
• Aromanian: preasinj, preasinji, pãreasinj
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܨܵܘܡܵܐ ܕܐܲܪܒܥܝܼ m (ṣāwmā d-arbʿī), ܨܵܘܡܵܐ ܓܘܼܪܵܐ m (ṣāwmā gurā)
• Asturian: Cuaresma f
• Basque: Garizuma inan
• Belarusian: Вялі́кі по́ст m (Vjalíki póst)
• Bulgarian: Вели́к по́ст m (Velík póst)
• Catalan: Quaresma (ca) f, quaresma (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 大齋期 / 大斋期 (zh) (dàizhāiqī), 四旬节 (zh) (sìxúnjié), 四旬節 / 四旬节 (zh)

• Czech: velký půst m, postní doba
• Danish: faste (da) c
• Dutch: veertigdagentijd m; vastentijd (nl) m
• Esperanto: Fastsezono, Karesmo
• Farefare: nõor-lʋa
• Finnish: paasto (fi), paastonaika, suuri paasto
• French: carême (fr) m
• Friulian: coresime f, cresime f
• Galician: coresma (gl) f
• Georgian: დიდი მარხვა (didi marxva)
• German: Fastenzeit (de) f
• Greek: Σαρακοστή (el) f (Sarakostí)
• Hawaiian: Kalema
• Hebrew: הַתַּעֲנִית f (hata'anít)
• Hungarian: nagyböjt (hu)
• Ido: karesmo (io)
• Ingrian: Suurpyhä, Pääsiänpaasto, Äijäpyhä
• Irish: Carghas
• Italian: Quaresima f
• Japanese: 四旬節 (しじゅんせつ, shijunsetsu)
• Konkani: कोरेज्म n (korejma)
• Korean: 사순절(四旬節) (ko) (sasunjeol)
• Ladin: carëisema f
• Latin: quādrāgēsima
• Latvian: Lielais gavēnis m
• Lithuanian: Gavėnia f
• Luxembourgish: Faaschtenzäit f
• Malay: Pra-Paskah
• Maltese: Randan
• Mòcheno: Vòst f
• Moore: no-loeere
• Norman: Tchithême m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: faste (no) m, fastetid m or f, langfaste m or f

  Nynorsk: langfaste f

• Occitan: caresma f
• Persian: چله روزه (čelle ruze)
• Polish: Wielki Post (pl) m
• Portuguese: quaresma (pt)
• Romanian: postul mare (ro), postul Paștelui, postul Paștilor, păresimi (ro), Păresimi f pl
• Romansch: curaisma f, cureisma f, curesma f, quaraisma f
• Russian: Вели́кий пост (ru) m (Velíkij post)
• Sardinian: caresima
• Scottish Gaelic: Carghas m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: коризма f, Велики пост m

  Roman: korizma (sh) f, Veliki post m

• Sicilian: Quarèsima (scn) f
• Slovak: Veľký pôst m
• Slovene: véliki pôst m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: spót m, spótny cas m

• Spanish: Cuaresma f
• Swahili: kwaresima (sw)
• Swedish: fastan (sv) c, påskfastan c
• Turkish: Büyük Perhiz
• Ukrainian: Вели́кий піст (uk) m (Velýkyj pist)
• Venetan: cuaréxema f, quaresima f
• Vietnamese: Mùa Chay
• Walloon: cwareme (wa) f
• Welsh: Grawys m
• Yiddish: פֿאַסטצײַט f (fasttsayt), גרויסער פּאָסט m (groyser post), פּאָסטצײַט f (posttsayt)

Etymology 2

Two main origins:

• Reduced form of Dutch van Lent, a habitational surname for someone from Lent, in Gelderland.
• Perhaps an Americanized spelling of German Lenth, from a personal name related to the noun Land.

Proper noun

Lent (plural Lents)

1. A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Lent is the 7652^nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 4341 individuals. Lent is most common among White (93.16%) individuals.

Further reading

• Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Lent”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 2, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 423.

Dutch

Etymology

First attested as in lente in 1196. Etymology uncertain. Potentially derived from Proto-Germanic *linditja- (“linden grove”), from *lindu, or dialectal lent (“quay where peat is stacked for transport”). Compare Lenthe and Linde.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛnt/
• Hyphenation: Lent
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Proper noun

Lent n

1. A village and former municipality of Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands

   Synonym: Kikkergat (Carnival nickname)

Derived terms

• Lentenaar
• Lents

References

• van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN