What does "essene" mean?

A member of a first-century ascetic Jewish sect in ancient Palestine from the second century BCE to the second century CE. The Essenes are believed to have been the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls.

What is a synonym for "essene"?

Common synonyms include: essenian, pharisee, sadducee.

Essene

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A member of a first-century ascetic Jewish sect in ancient Palestine from the second century BCE to the second century CE. The Essenes are believed to have been the authors of the Dead Sea scrolls. historical
2
a member of an ascetic Jewish sect around the time of Jesus wordnet

Adjective

1
said of or relating to the Essenes wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

essenian pharisee sadducee

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ἐσσηνοι (Essēnoi); earlier etymology unknown

Related phrases

essene bread

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.