Deliberately not eating food for a period of time, often for religious, health, or spiritual reasons.
From Old English 'fæst' meaning 'firmly fixed' or 'abstaining,' combined with '-ing.' Related to 'fast' (secure/firm) and 'feast' (its opposite).
Fasting appears in almost every world religion—Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism—which suggests humans discovered independently that going without food produces profound mental and spiritual experiences.
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