tonsorial

American  

[ton-sawr-ee-uhl, -sohr-] / tɒnˈsɔr i əl, -ˈsoʊr- /

adjective

1. of or relating to a barber or barbering.

   the tonsorial shop.

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tonsorial British  

/ tɒnˈsɔːrɪəl /

adjective

1. facetious of or relating to barbering or hairdressing

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Etymology

Origin of tonsorial

1805–15; < Latin tōnsōri ( us ) of shaving ( tond ( ēre ) to shave + -tōrius -tory ¹, with dt > s ) + -al ¹

Explanation

Use the adjective tonsorial when you need a fancy way to talk about barbers. Want to cut hair when you grow up? Tell your parents you're going into the tonsorial field. Even though tonsorial sounds like it has something to do with tonsils, the words are completely unrelated. Tonsorial comes from the Latin tonsorius, "of or pertaining to shearing or shaving." You're most likely to encounter this adjective in a humorous or overly formal context, and it can describe anything that has to do with cutting hair or shaving.

Example Sentences

There may even be one of those two-inch ponytails that were popular in the late 80s in there somewhere – it is hard to see in the general tonsorial disorder.

From The Guardian • Nov. 1, 2019

There is Edgar with the Mariners, Edgar in the All-Star Game, Edgar in all his incarnations and stages of tonsorial evolution.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 15, 2019

We’d gathered Monday, with the Franklin family’s blessing, to behold a trove of all kinds of genius — physical, musical, oratorical, sartorial, tonsorial, metaphysical — the most staggering genius, of course, being Franklin’s.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2018

His aim could be summed up by the classic tonsorial mantra: Cut it but don’t change it.

From Washington Post • Sep. 6, 2017

In 1862 he joined the Union forces in the Civil War; after the termination of that terrible crisis he went to Indianapolis, where he learned the tonsorial art.

From Twentieth Century Negro Literature Or, A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating to the American Negro by Culp, Daniel Wallace