Lent

n. annual period of fasting and penitence observed by Christians in preparation for Easter (begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for 40 weekdays until Easter)

v. give on a temporary basis; give money as a loan; donate, contribute; give, impart; help, assist; accommodate, adapt

In most Christian denominations, Lent is the forty-day period (or season) lasting from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the desert, where, according to the Bible, he endured the temptation of Satan. The six Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter" celebration of the Jesus' victory over sin and death. In those churches which follow the Byzantine tradition (e.g. Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics), the forty days of Lent are calculated differently; Sundays are included, but the days of Holy Week are not. Lent is a time of preparation for Holy Week, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Noun
1. a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
(synonym) Lententide
(hypernym) season
(part-holonym) church calendar, ecclesiastical calendar
(part-meronym) Good Friday

Verb
1. 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"
(synonym) impart, bestow, contribute, add, bring
(hypernym) change, alter, modify
(hyponym) instill, transfuse
2. give temporarily; let have for a limited time; "I will lend you my car"; "loan me some money"
(synonym) loan
(antonym) borrow
(hypernym) give
(hyponym) hire out, rent out, farm out
(derivation) lender, loaner
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"
(hypernym) be

adj. slow, tardy; lento, backward; cumbersome

imp. & p. p. of Lend.
  

(n.)
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.
  

(imp. & p. p.)
of Lend
  

(a.)
Slow; mild; gentle; as, lenter heats.
  

(a.)
See Lento.