Standard Lemma guide

lent

name · noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /lɛnt/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛnt
  • homophone: leant
  • homophone: Lent
  • homophone: lent
  • homophone: lint (pin–pen merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: L EH1 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Alternative letter-case form of Lent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: Christianity

Examples

  • Hezekiah gave up vaping for Lent.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

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

The 40 days preceding Lazarus Saturday, the Saturday preceding Holy Week.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: Christianity, Eastern-Christianity

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

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

The 46 days preceding Easter, reckoned as 40 days by excluding Sundays.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: Catholicism, Christianity, Roman-Catholicism

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Ellipsis of Lent term.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Topics: education

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

vassa, period of the Buddhist lent during the rainy season

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Myanmar

Topics: Buddhism, lifestyle, religion

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

simple past and past participle of lend

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, participle, past

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Lententide

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: season

History

Etymology

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.

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”).

Across languages

Translations

107 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Amharic: የሁዳዴ ጾም (yähudade ṣom) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Arabic: الصَّوْم الْأَرْبَعِينِيّ (aṣ-ṣawm al-ʔarbaʕīniyy) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Arabic: اَلصَّوْم اَلْكَبِير (aṣ-ṣawm al-kabīr) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܨܵܘܡܵܐ ܕܐܲܪܒܥܝܼ (ṣāwmā d-arbʿī) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܨܵܘܡܵܐ ܓܘܼܪܵܐ (ṣāwmā gurā) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Armenian: Մեծ Պահք (Mec Pahkʻ) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Aromanian: preasinj — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Aromanian: preasinji — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Aromanian: pãreasinj — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Asturian: Cuaresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Basque: Garizuma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Belarusian: Вялі́кі по́ст (Vjalíki póst) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Bulgarian: Вели́к по́ст (Velík póst) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Catalan: Quaresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Catalan: quaresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大齋期 /大斋期 (dàizhāiqī) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 四旬节 (sìxúnjié) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Chinese Mandarin: 四旬節 /四旬节 — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Czech: velký půst — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Czech: postní doba — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Danish: faste — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Dutch: veertigdagentijd — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Dutch: vastentijd — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Esperanto: Fastsezono — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Esperanto: Karesmo — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Farefare: nõor-lʋa — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Finnish: paasto — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Finnish: paastonaika — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Finnish: suuri paasto — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • French: carême — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Friulian: coresime — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Friulian: cresime — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Galician: coresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Georgian: დიდი მარხვა (didi marxva) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • German: Fastenzeit — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Greek: Σαρακοστή (Sarakostí) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή (Megáli Tessarakostí) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Hawaiian: Kalema — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Hebrew: הַתַּעֲנִית (hata'anít) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Hindi: चालीसा काल (cālīsā kāl) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Hungarian: nagyböjt — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Ido: karesmo — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Indonesian: Prapaskah — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Ingrian: Suurpyhä — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Ingrian: Pääsiänpaasto — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Ingrian: Äijäpyhä — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Irish: Carghas — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Italian: Quaresima — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Japanese: 四旬節 (shijunsetsu) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Konkani: कोरेज्म (korejma) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Korean: 사순절 (sasunjeol) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Ladin: carëisema — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Latin: quādrāgēsima — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Latvian: Lielais gavēnis — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Lithuanian: Gavėnia — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Luxembourgish: Faaschtenzäit — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Malay: Pra-Paskah — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Maltese: Randan — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Manx: Cargys — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Mòcheno: Vòst — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Moore: no-loeere — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Norman: Tchithême — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Norwegian Bokmål: faste — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Norwegian Bokmål: fastetid — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Norwegian Bokmål: langfaste — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: langfaste — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Occitan: caresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Persian: چله روزه (čelle ruze) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Polish: Wielki Post — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Portuguese: quaresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romanian: postul mare — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romanian: postul Paștelui — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romanian: postul Paștilor — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romanian: păresimi — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romanian: Păresimi — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romansh: curaisma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romansh: cureisma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romansh: curesma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Romansh: quaraisma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Russian: Вели́кий пост (Velíkij post) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Sardinian: caresima — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Scottish Gaelic: Carghas — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Serbo-Croatian: коризма — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Serbo-Croatian: Велики пост — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Serbo-Croatian: korizma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Serbo-Croatian: Veliki post — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Sicilian: Quarèsima — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Slovak: Veľký pôst — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Slovene: véliki pôst — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Lower Sorbian: spót — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Lower Sorbian: spótny cas — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Spanish: Cuaresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Swahili: kwaresima — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Swedish: fastan — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Swedish: påskfastan — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Tagalog: Kuwaresma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Tagalog: Kurisma — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Turkish: Büyük Perhiz — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Ukrainian: Вели́кий піст (Velýkyj pist) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Venetan: cuaréxema — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Venetan: quaresima — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Vietnamese: Mùa Chay — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Walloon: cwareme — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Welsh: Grawys — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Yiddish: פֿאַסטצײַט (fasttsayt) — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Yiddish: גרויסער פּאָסט — Christian period of penitence before Easter
  • Yiddish: פּאָסטצײַט (posttsayt) — Christian period of penitence before Easter