Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Lend \Lend\ (l[e^]nd), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Lent} (l[e^]nt); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Lending}.] [OE. lenen, AS. l[=ae]nan, fr.
l[=ae]n loan; akin to G. lehnen to lend. See {Loan}.]
1. To allow the custody and use of, on condition of the
return of the same; to grant the temporary use of; as, to
lend a book; -- opposed to {borrow}.
Give me that ring. I'll lend it thee, my dear, but
have no power To give it from me. --Shak.
2. To allow the possession and use of, on condition of the
return of an equivalent in kind; as, to lend money or some
article of food.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor
lend him thy victuals for increase. --Levit. xxv.
37.
3. To afford; to grant or furnish in general; as, to lend
assistance; to lend one's name or influence.
Cato, lend me for a while thy patience. --Addison.
Mountain lines and distant horizons lend space and
largeness to his compositions. --J. A.
Symonds.
4. To let for hire or compensation; as, to lend a horse or
gig.
Note: This use of the word is rare in the United States,
except with reference to money.
{To lend a hand}, to give assistance; to help. [Colloq.]
{To lend} {an ear or one's ears}, to give attention.
Lent \Lent\ (l[e^]nt),
imp. & p. p. of {Lend}.
Lent \Lent\, n. [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.] (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 lily} (Bot.), the daffodil; -- so named from its
blossoming in spring.
Lent \Lent\, a. [L. lentus; akin to lenis soft, mild: cf. F.
lent. See {Lenient}.]
1. Slow; mild; gentle; as, lenter heats. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
2. (Mus.) See {Lento}.
Source : WordNet®
Lent
n : a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
[syn: {Lententide}]