Essene noun. ['ɛsi:n] LME.
[Latin Esseni pl. from Greek Essēnoi, perh. from Aramaic.]
A member of a Jewish ascetic sect of the 1st cent. BC and the 1st cent. AD who lived communally and are widely regarded as the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

■ E'ssenian noun & adjective (a) noun = Essene; (b) adjective of, pertaining to, or resembling the Essenes: E18.

■ E'ssenic adjective of the nature of Essenism M19.

■ E'ssenical adjective (now rare or obsolete) = Essenic M17.

■ Essenism noun the doctrine and practice of the Essenes; an Essenic tendency: M19.

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