-kast noun
( -s )
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: Middle Greek hēsychastēs, from Late Greek, quietist, hermit, Greek hēsychazein to be still, keep quiet, from hēsychos quiet; perhaps akin to Old English sīd long — more at side
: one of an Eastern Orthodox ascetic sect of mystics originating among the monks of Mount Athos in the 14th century and practicing a quietistic method of contemplation for the purpose of attaining a beatific vision or similar mystical experience