Lenten, n. and a.
(ˈlɛnt(ə)n)
Forms: α. 1 lencten, leng(c)ten, lenten, -on, 2 læng-, lengten, 2–3 leinten, 3 læncten, Orm. lenntenn, 4 lentene, -in, -oun, 4–5 lentone, 5 lentyn(ne, 5–7 lenton, 4– lenten. β. Sc. and north. 4 lenteryne, lentrine, 4–5 lentryn(e, 4–6, 9 lentrin, lentrone, 5 lenterne, lentyren, 6 lantern, lentern, lenterane, lentran, lentren(e, lentroun, 6–7 lentron.
[OE. lęncten str. masc. corresponds to MDu. lentin, OHG. lengizin (mânôth), shortened lenzin: app. a derivative or a compound of the shorter synonym which appears as MLG., MDu., Du. lente fem., OHG. langiz, langaz str. masc. (MHG. langez, mod. Ger. dialects langis, etc.), also OHG. lenzo wk. masc. (MHG. lenze, mod.G. lenz). The shorter form (? OTeut. type *laŋgito-, *laŋgiton-) seems to be a derivative of *laŋgo- long a., and may possibly have reference to the lengthening of the days as characterizing the season of spring. It is doubtful whether the ending of the longer form is a mere derivative suffix, or whether it represents an OTeut. *tino- day, cognate with *-tîno- in Goth. sinteins daily, and with Skr. dina, OSl. dĭnĭ, Lith. dënà day.
The ecclesiastical sense of the word is peculiar to Eng.; in the other Teut. langs. the only sense is ‘spring’. As an ordinary n. lenten has been superseded by the shortened form Lent n.1; but the longer form has survived in attributive use, and is now apprehended as an adj., as if f. lent + -en4.
With the βforms cf. the ONorthumbrian éfern = WS. ǽfen, fæstern = fæsten, wéstern = wésten.]
† A. As a separate n. Obs.; superseded by Lent n.1
1. Spring; = Lent n.1 1.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 148 Nis nan blodlæstid swa god swa on foreweardne lencten. a 1100 Gerefa in Anglia (1886) IX. 262 On længtene ereᵹian and impian. c 1200 Ormin 8891 Illke Lenntenn forenn þeȝȝ Till Ȝerrsalæmess chesstre Aȝȝ atte te Passkemessedaȝȝ. c 1205 [see Lent n.1 1]. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 43 Lenten ys come with love to toune. |
2. = Lent n.1 2. Also
Clean Lenten.
Lenten's day: ? Easter-day.
| α a 1023 Wulfstan Hom. lviii. (Napier) 305 Þe ma, þe man mot on lenctene..flæsces brucan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 70 Holdeð silence..iðe leinten þreo dawes. 1340 Ayenb. 175 Efterward ine one time þanne in an-oþre ase in lenten oþer in ane heȝe messedaye. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 106 Ye secounde [morwespeche] shal bene ye first sunday of lentone. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xiv. 81 To lene ne to lere ne lentenes to faste. 14.. Customs Malton in Surtees Misc. (1888) 60 Exceppyd Burgese þ{supt} sellys heryng in Lentyn. a 1450 Myrc 75 Leste he forȝet by lentenes day [v.r. ester day]. 1492 Bury Wills (Camden) 74, I wole that the seyd prest abyde in Rome alle Lenton. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 2083 Truly for to fast the holy tyme of Lenton. 1553 Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 244 The fyrst Sonday in cleane lenton. |
| β 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 815 Fra the lenteryne, that is to say, Quhill forrouth the Saint Iohnnis mes. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 1135 Þe next lentryn, quhen begonnyn was þe fastine. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xvii. 2698 At Sayntandrewys than bad he, And held hys Lentryen in reawté. c 1470 Henryson Mor. Fab. ix. (Wolf & Fox) viii, ‘Schir’, said the fox, ‘it is lenterne, ye see; I can not fische’. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xii. 1 Off Lentren in the first mornyng. 1536 Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) I. xxiv, Passand, in the time of Lentroun, throw the seis Mediterrane, ay selland thair fische. 1562 Winȝet Cert. Tractates iii. Wks. 1888 I. 27 The ȝeirlie abstinence of fourty dayis afore Pasche, callit Lentren. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 7 On a Sabbath day in the tyme of Lentron. |
B. attrib. and as adj. 1. Of or pertaining to Lent, observed or taking place in Lent, as in
Lenten day,
Lenten discipline,
Lenten fast,
Lenten indult,
Lenten lecture,
Lenten pastoral,
Lenten penance,
Lenten sermon,
Lenten tide,
Lenten time.
| c 1020 Rule St. Benet xli. (Logeman) 73 On lænctene fæsten oð eastran. c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 312 Uer ys lengten tima. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 25 In leinten time uwilc mon gað to scrifte. a 1300 Cursor M. 12921 Til he had fasten his lententide. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 514/1 By these tradicions haue we the holy Lenton faste. 1563 Winȝet Four Score Thre Quest. Wks. 1888 I. 127 Quhy obeyt ȝe nocht ȝour selfis the last lentrene tyme ȝour magistratis. a 1572 Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 46 Sermones hie had tawght befoir the haill Lentrantyde preceding. 1610 Willet Hexapla Dan. 39 Pintus vpon this example groundeth the lenten-fast of 40. daies. 1628 W. Pemble Worthy Receiv. Lord's Supper 16 As Popish Postillers and Preachers doe in their Lenton Sermons. 1638 Shirley Duke's Mistress ii. C 4, To read morall virtue, And lenton Lectures to you. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 42 And perhaps it was the same politick drift that the Divell whipt St. Jerom in a lenten dream, for reading Cicero. 1703 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 75 This being the day in which their Lenten disciplines expir'd. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. ii. lxxviii, Yet mark their mirth—ere lenten days begin. 1876 Spurgeon Commenting 94 To listen to these sermons must have afforded a suitable Lenten penance to those who went to church to hear them. 1901 Edin. Rev. Apr. 440 The Lenten Pastoral Letters of the Catholic Bishops have appeared. |
2. Such as is appropriate to Lent; hence of provisions, diet, etc., such as may be used in Lent, meagre; of clothing, expression of countenance, etc., mournful-looking, dismal.
| 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. II. Descr. Scot. 7/2 For the Lenten prouision of such nations as lie vpon the Levant seas. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 9 A good lenton answer. 1602 ― Ham. ii. ii. 329 To thinke, my Lord, if you delight not in Man, what Lenton entertainment the Players shall receiue from you. 1613 Beaum. & Fl. Honest Man's Fort. iv. i, Who can reade In thy pale face, dead eye, or lenten shute, The liberty thy ever giving hand Hath bought for others. 1660–61 Pepys Diary 10 Mar., Dined at home on a poor Lenten dinner of colewurts and bacon. 1687 Dryden Hind & P. iii. 27 Meanwhile she..with a lenten salad cooled her blood. 1722 Prol. to Steele's Conscious Lovers, Believe me 'tis a Lean, a Lenten Dish. 1745 Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 489 He was welcome..if he could live on our lenten fare. 1750 Carte Hist. Eng. II. 702 There were large quantities of Lenten food, particularly herrings. 1840 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. i. St. Nicholas xiv, His lenten fare now let me share. 1855 Browning Twins v, For Dabitur's lenten face No wonder if Date rue. |
3. Special combs. and collocations:
† Lenten-chaps, contemptuously applied to a person with a lean visage;
† Lenten-cloth = Lent-cloth (
Lent n.1 4);
Lenten-corn, corn sown about Lent;
Lenten-faced a., lean and dismal of countenance;
Lenten fig,
† (
a) a dried fig; (
b)
dial. a raisin;
Lenten-grain = Lenten-corn;
Lenten-kail Sc., broth made without meat;
Lenten lily rare = lent-lily (
Lent n.1 4);
Lenten man nonce-wd., an observer of Lent;
Lenten pie, a pie containing no meat;
Lenten rose, a variety of
Helleborus orientalis, blooming in late winter and early spring;
† Lenten stuff, provisions suitable for Lent;
† Lenten top, some kind of toy, ? used at Shrovetide;
Lenten-veil = lenten-cloth (
Cent. Dict. 1889).
| 1622 Fletcher Sp. Curate v. ii, I'll have my swindge upon thee; Sirha! Rascall! You *lenten Chaps, you that lay sick, and mockt me. |
| 1485 Inv. in J. M. Cowper Churchw. Acc. St. Dunstan's, Canterbury xii, j *Lentyncloth called a vayle. 1546–7 in Swayne Churchw. Acc. Sarum (1896) 274, vij yardes of Oscon brigges for to make Seynt Thomas a lenton' clothe at iiijd the yarde. |
| 14.. Tretyce in W. of Henley's Husb. (1890) 44 *Lenten corne as..otys pecys barly & soyche oþer graynes. 1901 Times 11 Feb. 3/1 Warm seed-beds for Lenten corn are likely to be the exception. |
| 1604 T. M. Black Bk. C 1 b, Hee..was conducted through two or three hungry roomes..by a *Lenten faced Fellow. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Figue de Caresme, a drie fig, a *Lenten fig. |
| 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 266 This is a principal Seed-month for such they usually call *Lenten-Grain. |
| 1805 A. Scott Lentrin Kail Poems 39 (Jam.) O *lentrin kail, meed of my younger days. 1820 Scott Abbot xiv, Monks..are merriest..when they sup beef-brewis for lenten-kail. |
| 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxix, And there's the *Lenten lily That..dies on Easter day. |
| 1698 M. Lister Journ. Paris (1699) 21 And the Flesh Eaters will ever defend themselves, if not beat the *Lenten Men. |
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iv. 139 No Hare sir; vnlesse a Hare sir in a *Lenten pie. |
| 1884 J. Wood Hardy Perennials 137 (heading) Helleborus Orientalis... Sometimes also called the *Lenten Rose, as it may often be seen in flower during Lent. [1897 S. Hibberd Familiar Garden Flowers I. 35 As the trumpet daffodils are called ‘Lent lilies’, so the spring flowering hellebores are called ‘Lent roses’.] 1900 W. D. Drury Bk. Gardening x. 330 Equally deserving of praise are the Lenten Roses (H. orientalis), whose flowers embrace all the shades of rose and purple, as well as white and cream. 1948 P. M. Synge Flowers in Winter 57 Lenten Roses..always look well in a mixed winter bowl of flowers. 1970 C. Lloyd Well-Tempered Garden v. 378 The main flush of blossom from Lenten roses is borne from February till April. |
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 638 *Lentyn stuffe for y⊇ vytaylynge of hyr hoost. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI (1809) 147 The most part of the carriage was heryng & Lenten stuffe. |
| 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Praise Cleane Linen Wks. ii. 169/1 Round like a whirligigge or *lenten Top. |