lent

For the verb: "to lend"

Simple Past:	lent
Past Participle:	lent

Multiple Entries:
  lent    Lent    -lent    lend  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
lent/lent/

past and past participle of lend.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
Lent/lent/

▶noun (in the Christian Church) the period preceding Easter (in the Western Church from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday), which is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness.

– origin ME: abbrev. of Lenten.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
-lent/lənt/

▶suffix forming adjectives such as pestilent.

– origin from L. -lentus.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
lend/lend/

▶verb (past and past part. lent)

• 1 allow (someone) to use (something) on the understanding that it will be returned.

• 2 allow (someone) the use of (a sum of money) under an agreement to pay it back later, typically with interest.

• 3 give (a quality) to.

• 4 (lend oneself to) accommodate or adapt oneself to.

  ■ (lend itself to) be suitable for.

– phrases
lend an ear (or one's ears) listen sympathetically or attentively.

– derivatives
lendable adjective,
lender noun.

– origin OE lǣnan, of Gmc origin; rel. to loan1.

usage: Reciprocal pairs of words such as lend and borrow are often confused. Common uses in informal speech in a number of British dialects include can I lend your pen? (correct standard use is can I borrow your pen?).