Lenten

English

Etymology

From Old English lenten, lencten, equivalent to Lent +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlɛntən/
• Rhymes: -ɛntən

Adjective

Lenten (comparative more Lenten, superlative most Lenten)

1. Pertaining to Lent; taking place during Lent.
   • 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica:

     And perhaps it was the same politick drift that the Divell whipt St. Jerom in a lenten dream, for reading Cicero […] .

   • 1896, A. E. Housman, A Shropshire Lad, XXIX, line 8-10:

     And there's the Lenten lily / That has not long to stay / And dies on Easter day.

   • 2026 February 16, Alicia Eler, “Lunar New Year, Ramadan and Lent in rare alignment this year. The holidays follow different solar and lunar calendars, but some of them sync up in 2026”, in Minnesota Star Tribune‎^[1], archived from the original on 16 February 2026:

     Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is the last day to feast on rich, fatty foods before the 40-day Lenten season starts the next day, on Ash Wednesday.

2. Appropriate to Lent; meagre, sombre.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:

     To thinke, my Lord, if you delight not in Man, what Lenton entertainment the Players shall receiue from you […] .

Derived terms

• Lenten rose
• Lententide, Lent, Lenten lily

Translations

pertaining to Lent

• Finnish: paastonajan (genitive of noun)
• French: quadragésimal (fr)
• Hungarian: böjti (hu), böjtös (hu), nagyböjti (hu)
• Polish: wielkopostny (pl)
• Spanish: cuaresmeño (es)