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essenian

 - 3 dictionary results

Es⋅sene

  [es-een, e-seen]
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–noun Judaism.
a member of a Palestinian sect, characterized by asceticism, celibacy, and joint holding of property, that flourished from the 2nd century b.c. to the 2nd century a.d.
Related forms:
Es⋅se⋅ni⋅an  [e-see-nee-uhn] , Es⋅sen⋅ic  [e-sen-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Es·sene   (ěs'ēn', ĭ-sēn')   
n.  A member of an ascetic Jewish sect that existed in ancient Palestine from the second century B.C. to the second century A.D.
Es·se'ni·an (ě-sē'nē-ən), Es·sen'ic (ě-sěn'ĭk) adj., Es·se'nism n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Essene 
1553, member of a Jewish sect (first recorded 2c. B.C.E.), from L., from Gk. Essenoi, of disputed etymology, perhaps from Heb. tzenum "the modest ones," or Heb. hashaim "the silent ones." Klein suggests Syriac hasen, pl. absolute state of hase "pious."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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