Fasters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Those who abstain from food or drink for a period of time
2. Individuals engaging in a religious or spiritual practice of refraining from eating
3. People who avoid specific items or meals as part of a dietary regimen

Etymology: "Fasters" is simply the plural of "faster", a noun for someone who abstains from food or drink for a set period. The noun is built from the verb "fast" (to refrain from eating) with the suffix "-er", the same ending found in words like "baker" or "dreamer". The verb's root is the Old English "fæst", meaning firm or fixed, which connects "fasting" to the older sense of holding steady and staying put. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the word itself. The "-er" ending descends from Old English "-ere", which came from the Proto-Germanic "-ārijaz", and ultimately from a Latin "-ārius" that spread through Old French into Middle English. Each step carried the idea of a person connected to a particular activity or trait.