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tonsure

[ ton-sher ]

noun

  1. the act of cutting the hair or shaving the head.
  2. the shaving of the head or of some part of it as a religious practice or rite, especially in preparation for entering the priesthood or a monastic order.
  3. the part of a cleric's head, usually the crown, left bare by shaving the hair.
  4. the state of being shorn.


verb (used with object)

, ton·sured, ton·sur·ing.
  1. to confer the ecclesiastical tonsure upon.
  2. to subject to tonsure.

tonsure

/ ˈtɒnʃə /

noun

  1. in certain religions and monastic orders
    1. the shaving of the head or the crown of the head only
    2. the part of the head left bare by shaving
    3. the state of being shaven thus
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


verb

  1. tr to shave the head of
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈtonsured, adjective
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Other Words From

  • un·tonsured adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tonsure1

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin tōnsūra a shearing, equivalent to tōns ( us ) (past participle of tondēre to shear, clip, shave) + -ūra -ure
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tonsure1

C14: from Latin tōnsūra a clipping, from tondēre to shave
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Example Sentences

But he never took orders, the clerical tonsure being a sufficient qualification for holding canonries.

The student was exempted by his tonsure from lay jurisdiction.

Assured, however, that he was in Dublin, he scratched his tonsure once more.

Pretty children, with their hair clipped around their heads like a priest's tonsure, sport around us, but are not intrusive.

There was a fifth, a baker who wore the tonsure and was delivered to the episcopal court, which sentenced him to vergenza.

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