tonsure

T1O1N1S1U1R1E1
UK/ˈtɒn.ʃə(ɹ)/US/ˈtɑn.ʃɚ/

verb

To shave the crown of the head of (a person) as a sign of humility and religious vocation.

OriginMiddle English tonsure ← Old French tonsure ← Latin tonsūra →
RareScrabble 7
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Meanings

verbtonsure (third-person singular simple present tonsures, present participle tonsuring, simple past and past participle tonsured)

present singular third person tonsures · participle present tonsuring · participle past tonsured · past tonsured

  1. transitiveBuddhismTo shave the crown of the head of (a person) as a sign of humility and religious vocation.
nountonsure (plural tonsures)

plural tonsures

  1. The hairstyle and characteristic bald patch resulting from being tonsured.
  2. A ritual shaving of this kind.

Origin

  1. Latintonsūra“a clipping, trimming”
  2. Old Frenchtonsure
  3. Middle Englishtonsure
  4. Englishtonsure

From Middle English tonsure, from Anglo-Norman and Old French tonsure, from Latin tonsūra (“a clipping, trimming”), from tondeō (“shear, clip, trim”).

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian тонзура
  • тонзура (tonzura)bald patch resulting from being tonsured
Catalan tonsurar, tonsura
  • tonsurarshave the crown of the head
  • tonsurabald patch resulting from being tonsured
Chinese Mandarin 削髮 /削发, 剃度
  • 削髮 /削发 (xuēfà)shave the crown of the head
  • 剃度 (tìdù)shave the crown of the head
  • 削髮 /削发 (xuēfà)bald patch resulting from being tonsured
  • 剃度 (tìdù)bald patch resulting from being tonsured
  • 削髮 /削发 (xuēfà)ritual shaving of this kind
  • 剃度 (tìdù)ritual shaving of this kind
Esperanto tonsuro
  • tonsurobald patch resulting from being tonsured
Finnish tehdä tonsuuri, tonsuuri
  • tehdä tonsuurishave the crown of the head
  • tonsuuribald patch resulting from being tonsured
  • tonsuuriritual shaving of this kind
French tonsurer, tonsure
  • tonsurershave the crown of the head
  • tonsurebald patch resulting from being tonsured
German Tonsur
  • Tonsurbald patch resulting from being tonsured
Hindi मुंडन
  • मुंडन (muṇḍan)ritual shaving of this kind
Hungarian tonzúra
  • tonzúrabald patch resulting from being tonsured
Icelandic krúnuraka, krúna
  • krúnurakashave the crown of the head
  • krúnabald patch resulting from being tonsured
  • krúnuraksturritual shaving of this kind
Japanese 剃度
  • 剃度 (teido)ritual shaving of this kind
Polish tonsura
  • tonsurabald patch resulting from being tonsured
Russian тонзу́ра
  • тонзу́ра (tonzúra)bald patch resulting from being tonsured
Spanish tonsurar, tonsura
  • tonsurarshave the crown of the head
  • tonsurabald patch resulting from being tonsured
  • tonsuraritual shaving of this kind
Swedish tonsur
  • tonsurbald patch resulting from being tonsured
Tagalog panot
  • panotbald patch resulting from being tonsured
Ukrainian постригти, тонзура
  • постригти (postryhty)shave the crown of the head
  • тонзура (tonzura)bald patch resulting from being tonsured
  • постриг (postryh)ritual shaving of this kind
  • постриження (postryžennja)ritual shaving of this kind

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

nutrose
Cite this entry
APA

tonsure. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonsure

MLA

“tonsure.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonsure. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tonsure,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tonsure.

Source: tonsure on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.