noun / verb
tonsure
TAHN-sher/ˈtɑːnʃər/
Shaving part of the head as a sign of religious devotion, or the resulting shaved patch.
The monk's tonsure marks his commitment to a religious life.
Etymology
Latin tonsura named an act of shearing or clipping. In religious use, the term refers both to ritual head-shaving and to the bare patch that the shaving leaves.
In context
the Pauline tonsure, named after Saint Paul, and used more commonly in Eastern Orthodoxy. It is a fully shaved head.
More examples
- The novices receive a tonsure as part of their initiation.
- They tonsure new monks during the ceremony.
- A ring of hair surrounds his tonsure.
Forms
tonsure · tonsures · tonsured · tonsuring
Similar words
- shave
- Shave describes hair removal without implying a religious purpose.