tonsure

[ ton-sher ]

/ ˈtɒn ʃər /

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See synonyms for: tonsured on Thesaurus.com

noun

the act of cutting the hair or shaving the head.

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.

the part of a cleric's head, usually the crown, left bare by shaving the hair.

the state of being shorn.

verb (used with object), ton·sured, ton·sur·ing.

to confer the ecclesiastical tonsure upon.

to subject to tonsure.

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Origin of tonsure

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tonsure

un·ton·sured, adjective

Words nearby tonsure

tonsillo-, tonsillolith, tonsillotomy, tonsils, tonsorial, tonsure, tontine, ton-up, tonus, tony, too

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tonsure in a sentence

But he never took orders, the clerical tonsure being a sufficient qualification for holding canonries.
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages, Vol. 3 (of 3)|Henry Hallam
The student was exempted by his tonsure from lay jurisdiction.
Oxford and Her Colleges|Goldwin Smith
Assured, however, that he was in Dublin, he scratched his tonsure once more.
The House by the Church-Yard|J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Pretty children, with their hair clipped around their heads like a priest's tonsure, sport around us, but are not intrusive.
In Eastern Seas|J. J. Smith

There was a fifth, a baker who wore the tonsure and was delivered to the episcopal court, which sentenced him to vergenza.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4|Henry Charles Lea

British Dictionary definitions for tonsure

tonsure

/ (ˈtɒnʃə) /

noun

(in certain religions and monastic orders)

the shaving of the head or the crown of the head only
the part of the head left bare by shaving
the state of being shaven thus

verb

(tr) to shave the head of

Derived forms of tonsure

tonsured, adjective

Word Origin for tonsure

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

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