Why is Lent called Lent? What language did the word come from?

Answer 1

The Lenten period of forty days owes its origin to the Latin word quadragesima, signifying forty hours. This referred to the forty hours of total fast which preceded the Easter celebration in the early Church.[1] The main ceremony was the baptizing of the initiates on Easter Eve. The fast was in preparation to receive this sacrament. Later, the period from Good Friday until Easter Day was extended to six days, to correspond with the six weeks of training, necessary to instruct the converts who were to be baptized.

Initially the word simply meant spring, and later became associated with the fast. The English word lent derives from the Germanic root for Spring (specifically Old English lencten; also the Anglo-Saxon name for March - lenct (as the main part of Lent, before Easter, usually occurred in March).

Answer 2

Origin Of Lent

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why is Lent called Lent? What language did the word come from?

Answer 4

The Teutonic word Lent, which we employ to denote the forty days' fast preceding Easter, originally meant no more than the spring season. Still it has been used from the Anglo-Saxon period to translate the more significant Latin term quadragesima (French carême, Italian quaresima, Spanish cuaresma), meaning the "forty days", or more literally the "fortieth day". This in turn imitated the Greek name for Lent, tessarakoste (fortieth), a word formed on the analogy of Pentecost (pentekoste), which last was in use for the Jewish festival before New Testament times. This etymology, as we shall see, is of some little importance in explaining the early days
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Another definition
Lent comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning "spring" or "lengthening days." It is a period of preparation for Easter and a time to strengthen one's faith through repentance and prayer. Lent has been observed with periods of fasting, abstinence from meat, dairy products, wine, etc.; and other penitential activities. It is a modern custom for Christians to "give up something for Lent" such as a favorite food, pleasure, or activity.
http://dictionary.reference.com/features/easter.html
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Yet another definition
Lent

The word Lent has an obscure origin, and is probably a corruption of similar terms in ancient Anglo, Saxon, and Germanic languages, all of which referred to spring, new life, and hope. Although it is generally considered to be a time of mourning and repentance, it is also designated as a time of new life and hope because by means of the death of Christ, we receive new life. http://www.answers.org/issues/easter.html

Answer 5

Yes, Catholics between the ages of 14 and 64 are required to abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent and to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday (which generally means one light meal and two small snacks, unless a person has an illness, a laborious job, or a pregnancy or something like that that requires them to eat a regular diet). Actually, every Friday is still a penitent Friday, even outside of Lent, so if a Catholic does not abstain from meat on that day, he/she must substitute a devotion of prayer or some corporal work of mercy or something like that.

Answer 6

Germanic. It refers to the lengthening days of spring. The very last sentence below is interesting.

Before the end of the 14th century, it was known as lente, which was a shortened form of lenten "spring, lent" (about 1123). Lenten came from Old English (8th century) lencten "spring", which itself came from Proto-Germanic *langa-tinaz or *langgitinaz "spring". *Lang is the source of Old English lang "long" (cf. "Auld Lang Syne"), and tinaz or tina is the source of Gothic -teins "day". Hence *langa-tinaz/langgitinaz meant, literally "long day", a reference to the lengthening of days in spring, when the season of Lent occurs. There are Germanic cognates: Old Saxon and Middle Dutch lentin "spring" (modern Dutch lente); and Old High German lengizin/lenzin/lenzo "spring" (modern German Lenz). Only in English did the ecclesiastical meaning of Lent arise and prevail.

Answer 7

I don't know but probably not Hebrew.