Meaning

noun a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday

verb bestow a quality on

verb give temporarily; let have for a limited time

originShortened 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…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0