tonsure

[ton-sher]

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.

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

Related formsun·ton·sured, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for tonsure

Historical Examples of tonsure

We have as much to fear from the tonsure as from the hauberk.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
But the tonsure had then been very small, hardly larger than a penny.
Abbe Mouret's Transgression
Emile Zola
In the Old Testament it is permitted to no priest to wear the tonsure.
The Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude Preached and Explained
Martin Luther
Although he was an archbishop he had only the first tonsure.
Lucretia Borgia
Ferdinand Gregorovius
The mark of his tonsure was next removed, and that with great cruelty.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3 of 8
Various

British Dictionary definitions for tonsure

tonsure

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 Formstonsured, 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

Word Origin and History for tonsure

late 14c., "shaving of the head or part of it as a religious rite," from Anglo-French tonsure (mid-14c.), from Old French tonsure (14c.), from Latin tonsura "a shearing, clipping," from tonsus, past participle of tondere "to shear, shave," from PIE *tend-, from root *tem- "to cut" (see tome). The verb is attested from 1793. Related: Tonsured; tonsuring.