Lent

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Lent †spring; period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Eve. XIII. Shortened form of ME. lenten, OE. lencten = MDu. lentin, OHG. len(gi)zin :- WGmc. *laŋgitīna, either f. *laŋgita-, -tan- whence MDu. lenta, Du. lente, OHG. langiz, -uz, lenzo, G. lenz) with suffix -īna-, or f. Gmc. *laŋgaz long1 + *tīna- of Goth. sinteins daily, rel. to Skr. dina-, OSl. dǐnǐ, Lith. dienà day; the ult. deriv. from LONG1 is undoubted and may have ref. to the lengthening of the day in spring; the eccl. sense is peculiar to Eng. Lenten survives in attrib. use, apprehended as an adj. in -EN3.

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