fast

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fast2 abstain from food. OE. fæstan = (M)Du. vasten, OHG. fastēn (G. fasten), ON. fasta, Goth. fastan :- Gmc. *fastējan, f. *fastuz; see prec. The gen. sense was ‘hold fast’, hence ‘keep, observe’ (as in Gothic), of which ‘observe abstinence’ was a spec. application.
So sb. act or season of fasting. XII. — ON. fasta = OS., OHG. fasta.

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