Wordnet 3.0
NOUN (1)
1. 
 a member of an ascetic Jewish sect around the time of Jesus; 
ADJECTIVE (1)
1. 
 said of or relating to the Essenes; 
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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.
   [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Essene
    adj 1: said of or relating to the Essenes
    n 1: a member of an ascetic Jewish sect around the time of Jesus