What does Tonsure mean?

Definitions for Tonsure
ˈtɒn ʃərton·sure

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Tonsure.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. tonsurenoun

    the shaved crown of a monk's or priest's head

  2. tonsureverb

    shaving the crown of the head by priests or members of a monastic order

  3. tonsureverb

    shave the head of a newly inducted monk

Wiktionary

  1. tonsurenoun

    The bald patch resulting from being tonsured.

  2. tonsureverb

    To subject to the often ritual shaving of the crown of the head as a sign of humility and one's religious vocation. Some tonsures were more dramatic than others, leaving only a fringe of hair. Abolished by Vatican II in the Roman Catholic Church.

  3. Etymology: From tonsura, from tondeo.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Tonsurenoun

    The act of clipping the hair; the state of being shorn.

    Etymology: tonsure, Fr. tonsura, Lat.

    The vestals, after having received the tonsure, suffered their hair to come again, being here full grown, and gathered under the veil. Addison.

ChatGPT

  1. tonsure

    Tonsure is a religious practice of cutting or shaving some or all of one's hair, often as a symbol of religious devotion or humility. The practice is common in many Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jainist religious groups. In particular, it was historically associated with monks in Christian monastic orders. In the verb form, to tonsure means to cut or shave the hair as a religious rite or symbol.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Tonsurenoun

    the act of clipping the hair, or of shaving the crown of the head; also, the state of being shorn

  2. Tonsurenoun

    the first ceremony used for devoting a person to the service of God and the church; the first degree of the clericate, given by a bishop, abbot, or cardinal priest, consisting in cutting off the hair from a circular space at the back of the head, with prayers and benedictions; hence, entrance or admission into minor orders

  3. Tonsurenoun

    the shaven corona, or crown, which priests wear as a mark of their order and of their rank

Wikidata

  1. Tonsure

    Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members. Tonsure, usually qualified by the name of the religion concerned, is now sometimes used more generally for such cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of other religions as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem, e.g., by Buddhist novices and monks, and some Hindu streams.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Tonsure

    ton′shōōr, n. act of clipping the hair, or of shaving the head: a religious observance of the R.C. and Eastern Churches, which consists in shaving or cutting part of the hair of the head as a sign of the dedication of the person to the special service of God, and commonly to the public ministry of religion.—adj. Ton′sured, having the crown of the head shaven as a priest: shaven: bald. [L. tonsura, a shearing—tondēre.]

Matched Categories

Anagrams for Tonsure »

  1. snouter

  2. unstore

How to pronounce Tonsure?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Tonsure in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Tonsure in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Tonsure#100000#302489#333333

Translations for Tonsure

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"Tonsure." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Tonsure>.

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    pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
    A disjointed
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