tonsure
noun
the act of cutting the hair or shaving the head.
tonsures
-
present tense formof tonsure (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There were clerks with neat little skull-caps to keep their tonsures warm, dressed in sober clothes which contrasted with the laity.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
Otherwise, in common with the Church, Buddhism has saints, censers, litanies, tonsures, holy water, fasts, and confession.
From The Lords of the Ghostland A History of the Ideal by Edgar Saltus
The Pope’s heart quailed like a man’s; The cardinals froze at the sight, Bowing their tonsures hoary: And the eyes in the peacock-fans Winked at the alien glory.
From The Poetical Works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Volume IV by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Men-at-arms mumbled their offices; steel caps concealed tonsures: embrasures framed precious panes: trumpets sounded the Angelus: mail chinked beneath vestments: sallies became processions: sentinels cried "Pax vobiscum"….
From Jonah and Co. by Dornford Yates
They were both tall men, and they stood with their cowls over their tonsures, in the conventual attitude, their hands tucked away into the ample sleeves of their brown habits.
From The Strolling Saint; being the confessions of the high and mighty Agostino D'Anguissola, tyrant of Mondolfo and Lord of Carmina in the state of Piacenza by Rafael Sabatini
