tonsure
pronunciation
How to pronounce tonsure in British English:
UK [ˈtɒnʃə(r)]
How to pronounce tonsure in American English:
US [ˈtɑnʃə(r)]
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- Noun:
- the shaved crown of a monk's or priest's head
- shaving the crown of the head by priests or members of a monastic order
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- Verb:
- shave the head of a newly inducted monk
Word Origin
- tonsure
- tonsure: see tome
- tonsure (n.)
- late 14c., "shaving of the head or part of it," especially as a religious rite, from Anglo-French tonsure (mid-14c.), Old French tonsure "ecclesiastical tonsure; sheep-shearing" (14c.), from Latin tonsura "a shearing, clipping," from tonsus, past participle of tondere "to shear, shave, clip, crop," from PIE *tend-, from root *tem- "to cut" (see tome). The verb is attested from 1706 (implied in tonsured). Related: Tonsuring.
Example
- 1. The ferule is used for conversion , tonsure , ordination and parlance .
- 2. Before long , she saw through the emptiness of the material world and took tonsure .
- 3. All undergo the same tonsure , wear the same frock , eat the same black bread , sleep on the same straw , die on the same ashes .
- 4. It restored the night silence , poverty in apparel , and monastic tonsure .
- 5. Former chinese actress and business celebrity chen xiaoxu has taken the tonsure at a buddhist temple in changchun , capital of jilin province in northeast china , her husband told a newspaper sunday .