Crossword Genius

Saying nothing is kept up over period of religious observance (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

silent

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'saying nothing is kept up over' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'period of religious observance' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'period' could be 'lent' (Lent is an example) and 'lent' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'si' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for silent that I've seen before include "Mute" , "A continent" , "Inaudible" , "Listen (anag.)" , "Like early films" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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