Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Essene \Es*sene"\, n.; pl. {Essenes}. [Gr. ?, lit., physicians,
   because they practiced medicine, fr. Chald [=a]say[=a] to
   heal, cf. Heb. as[=a].]
   One of a sect among the Jews in the time of our Savior,
   remarkable for their strictness and abstinence.

Source : WordNet®

Essene
     adj : said of or relating to the Essenes
     n : a member of an ascetic Jewish sect around the time of Jesus