tonsure : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: tonsure	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for tonsure
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
tonsure n 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 v shave the head of a newly inducted monk
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Tonsure \Ton"sure\, n. [F., fr. L. tonsura a shearing, clipping, from tondere, tonsum, to shear, shave; cf. Gr. [?] to gnaw; perhaps akin to Gr. [?] to cut, and E. tome.] 1. The act of clipping the hair, or of shaving the crown of the head; also, the state of being shorn. 2. (R. C. Ch.) (a) 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. (b) The shaven corona, or crown, which priests wear as a mark of their order and of their rank.