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tonsure

 - 4 dictionary results

ton⋅sure

  [ton-sher] noun, verb, -sured, -sur⋅ing.
Use tonsure in a Sentence
–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, esp. 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)
5. to confer the ecclesiastical tonsure upon.
6. to subject to tonsure.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L tōnsūra a shearing, equiv. to tōns(us) (ptp. of tondēre to shear, clip, shave) + -ūra -ure
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ton·sure   (tŏn'shər)   
n.  

  1. The act of shaving the head or part of the head, especially as a preliminary to becoming a priest or a member of a monastic order.

  2. The part of a monk's or priest's head that has been shaved.

tr.v.   ton·sured, ton·sur·ing, ton·sures
To shave the head of.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin tōnsūra, from Latin, a shearing, from tōnsus, past participle of tondēre, to shear; see tem- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

tonsure 
1387, "shaving of the head or part of it as a religious rite," from Anglo-Fr. tonsure (1351), from O.Fr. tonsure (14c.), from L. tonsura "a shearing, clipping," from tonsus, pp. of tondere "to shear, shave," from PIE *tend-, from base *tem- "to cut" (see tome). The verb is attested from 1793.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia

tonsure

in various religions, a ceremony of initiation in which hair is clipped from the head as part of the ritual marking one's entrance into a new stage of religious development or activity

Learn more about tonsure with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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