tonsuring

Variant of tonsure

tonsure definition

ton·sure (tän′s̸hər)

noun

  1. a clipping off or shaving off of part or all of the hair of the head, done esp. formerly as a signal of entrance into the clerical or monastic state
  2. the head area so clipped or shaved

Etymology: ME < MFr < L tonsura < tonsus: see tonsorial

transitive verb tonsured -·sured, tonsuring -·sur·ing

to clip or shave the head hair of for such a purpose

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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