Meaning of "tonsure" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TONSURE

From Latin tōnsūra a clipping, from tondēre to shave.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF TONSURE

tonsure  [ˈtɒnʃə]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF TONSURE

Tonsure is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb tonsure in English.

WHAT DOES TONSURE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Tonsure

Tonsure is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp, as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word tonsūra and referred to a specific practice in medieval Catholicism, abandoned by papal order in 1972. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem. Tonsure also refers to the secular practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy, or to designate mourning. Tonsure is still a traditional practice in Catholicism by specific religious orders, is commonly used in the Eastern Orthodox Church for newly baptized members, is frequently utilized for Buddhist novices and monks, exists as a traditional practice in Islam after completion of the hajj, and is practiced by a number of Hindu religious orders.

Definition of tonsure in the English dictionary

The first definition of tonsure in the dictionary is the shaving of the head or the crown of the head only. Other definition of tonsure is the part of the head left bare by shaving. Tonsure is also the state of being shaven thus.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO TONSURE

PRESENT

Present

I tonsure

you tonsure

he/she/it tonsures

we tonsure

you tonsure

they tonsure

Present continuous

I am tonsuring

you are tonsuring

he/she/it is tonsuring

we are tonsuring

you are tonsuring

they are tonsuring

Present perfect

I have tonsured

you have tonsured

he/she/it has tonsured

we have tonsured

you have tonsured

they have tonsured

Present perfect continuous

I have been tonsuring

you have been tonsuring

he/she/it has been tonsuring

we have been tonsuring

you have been tonsuring

they have been tonsuring

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I tonsured

you tonsured

he/she/it tonsured

we tonsured

you tonsured

they tonsured

Past continuous

I was tonsuring

you were tonsuring

he/she/it was tonsuring

we were tonsuring

you were tonsuring

they were tonsuring

Past perfect

I had tonsured

you had tonsured

he/she/it had tonsured

we had tonsured

you had tonsured

they had tonsured

Past perfect continuous

I had been tonsuring

you had been tonsuring

he/she/it had been tonsuring

we had been tonsuring

you had been tonsuring

they had been tonsuring

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will tonsure

you will tonsure

he/she/it will tonsure

we will tonsure

you will tonsure

they will tonsure

Future continuous

I will be tonsuring

you will be tonsuring

he/she/it will be tonsuring

we will be tonsuring

you will be tonsuring

they will be tonsuring

Future perfect

I will have tonsured

you will have tonsured

he/she/it will have tonsured

we will have tonsured

you will have tonsured

they will have tonsured

Future perfect continuous

I will have been tonsuring

you will have been tonsuring

he/she/it will have been tonsuring

we will have been tonsuring

you will have been tonsuring

they will have been tonsuring

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would tonsure

you would tonsure

he/she/it would tonsure

we would tonsure

you would tonsure

they would tonsure

Conditional continuous

I would be tonsuring

you would be tonsuring

he/she/it would be tonsuring

we would be tonsuring

you would be tonsuring

they would be tonsuring

Conditional perfect

I would have tonsure

you would have tonsure

he/she/it would have tonsure

we would have tonsure

you would have tonsure

they would have tonsure

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been tonsuring

you would have been tonsuring

he/she/it would have been tonsuring

we would have been tonsuring

you would have been tonsuring

they would have been tonsuring

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you tonsure
we let´s tonsure
you tonsure

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to tonsure

Past participle

tonsured

Present Participle

tonsuring

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

TRANSLATION OF TONSURE

Find out the translation of tonsure to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of tonsure from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «tonsure» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 剃度
• Translator English - Spanish: tonsura
• English: tonsure
• Translator English - Hindi: मुंडन
• Translator English - Arabic: حلاقة الشعر
• Translator English - Russian: постриг
• Translator English - Portuguese: tonsura
• Translator English - Bengali: কেশকর্তন
• Translator English - French: tonsure
• Translator English - Malay: Tonur
• Translator English - German: Tonsur
• Translator English - Japanese: 剃髪
• Translator English - Korean: 체발
• Translator English - Javanese: Tonsure
• Translator English - Vietnamese: lể cạo đầu
• Translator English - Tamil: குடுமி வைத்து
• Translator English - Marathi: धाड
• Translator English - Turkish: başın tepesini traş etmek
• Translator English - Italian: tonsura
• Translator English - Polish: tonsura
• Translator English - Ukrainian: постриг
• Translator English - Romanian: tunsoare
• Translator English - Greek: κουρά
• Translator English - Afrikaans: tonsuur
• Translator English - Swedish: tonsure
• Translator English - Norwegian: tonsure

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «TONSURE»

Discover the use of tonsure in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to tonsure and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Chŭḷăkantamaṅgala: Or, the Tonsure Ceremony as Performed in Siam

the antiquity of the practices connected therewith, especially as concerns the artificial Kailasa constructed for the bathing of the candidates after the tonsure. We have shown how the rites find their origin in the legendary tonsure of Ganeqa , and ...

Gerolamo Emilio Gerini, 1976

Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History

Some orders of monks who left a narrow crown of hair around their heads said that this signified the crown of thorns placed on Christ's head during his crucifixion. The distinctive style, which is called the tonsure (from the Latin word tondere ...

Victoria Sherrow, 2006

The Celtic Church in Britain

J. Dowden appears to have hit upon the most feasible solution of the problem. 121 Noting that the Celtic tonsure had a superficial resemblance to a crown on the forehead, he concluded that there was probably a tuft or fringe of hair left in the ...

Leslie Hardinge, 1995

How Zen Became Zen: The Dispute Over Enlightenment and the ...

First, a clear concept of the tonsure family had formed, and novices now entered into a web of obligations and rights that ... entire tonsure families. it had become common for individual hereditary monasteries to be exclusively associated with a  ...

Morten Schlutter, 2010

The Christian Tradition in Anglo-Saxon England: Approaches ...

Peter chose this form for three reasons, in imitation of Christ's crown of thorns, to invite the derision of the pagan Romans, and that 'the priests of the Old Testament and the New might be distinguished by their habit and tonsure'. Old Testament ...

Paul Cavill, 2004

A Companion to Bede: A Reader's Commentary on The ...

tonsure in the shape of a crown before he was consecrated as a bishop (cf. III.26) . Whether he was ordained deacon and priest along the way, we are not told. Hitherto, Bede tells us, Theodore had worn “the tonsure of the holy apostle Paul,  ...

John Robert Wright, 2008

The Indian Widow: From Victim To Victor

Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of the Arya Samaj, permitted Niyoga to his followers because he felt that the only way to give relief to the widow was by reviving the practice of Niyoga, which had Vedic sanction. Tonsure The custom of  ...

Jeanette Pinto, 2002

The Two Babylons: Or, The Papal Worship Proved to be the ...

Now, these celibate priests have all a certain mark set upon them at their ordination; and that is the clerical tonsure. The tonsure is the first part of the ceremony of ordination ; and it is held to be a most important element in connection with the ...

rev. Alexander Hislop, 1862

Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland

regarding the tonsure. “ But the Apostels were not uniform in their Tonsure. S'. Peter shav the Top of his Head leaving below towards the Forehead and Ears a circle of Hair representing our Saviour's Crown of Thorns. There are extant several ...

Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 1861

The Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland ...

The history of the ecclesiastical tonsure is a subject of considerable interest to the archaeologist, and it will be necessary to dwell on it at some length. Harris affords us the following information regarding the tonsure. " [But the Apostels were ...

Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological Society, 1861

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «TONSURE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term tonsure is used in the context of the following news items.

7 bakery employees tonsure heads as mark of respect to Kalam

Seven bakery workers at Pollachi in the district tonsured their heads today as a ... in Pollachi, about 35 km from here and got their heads tonsured, they said. «Business Standard, Jul 15»

Odisha villagers tonsure tutor for posting student's pics on FB

The tuition teacher– Bijay Kumar Panda (25)– from Bahadaguda village under Dharakote police station limits in Odisha's Ganjam district was tonsured, paraded ... «Odisha Sun Times, Jul 15»

Tonsure: Schools say parents should be kept in loop

DEHRADUN: The Doon valley is famous for its schools and well-known for churning out bright students, but recently, a leading school was embroiled in ... «Times of India, Jul 15»

Irked over delayed promotions, 101 SC/ST teachers tonsure heads

The agitating members threatened to organize a mass drive wherein nearly 1,000 individuals, including 101 women, would get their heads tonsured in front of ... «Times of India, Jun 15»

Odisha auto drivers tonsure heads to protest Brahma Parivartan mess

The members today tonsured their heads and took a dip in the Gobari river on the banks of Sujanapur Mangala Temple here after offering Shraddha to the ... «Odisha Sun Times, Jun 15»

Where is hair on HDK's head to tonsure: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday hit back at JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy's comment that he would tonsure his head if the Yethinahole drinking water ... «Deccan Herald, May 15»

Nellai Mayor to tonsure head for Jayalalithaa

Mayor of Tirunelveli E. Bhuvaneswari in bid to fulfill her vow is expected to tonsure her head on Wednesday (May 13) as AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa ... «The Hindu, May 15»

Pourquoi les moines portaient-ils une tonsure ?

Signe particulier des moines chrétiens du Moyen Age, la tonsure, qui consiste à se raser une partie des cheveux au sommet du crâne, est née au IIe siècle. «DirectMatin.fr, Apr 15»

Mother Tonsures Teenaged Girl to Save Her From Being Raped

THANE: Fearing that her daughter would be raped again, a lady from Kalwa tonsured her daughter to make her look ugly a couple of days ago, police sources ... «The New Indian Express, Mar 15»

Woman branded witch, paraded with tonsured head

GAYA: In yet another incident of mob justice, a group of villagers branded a co villager woman as witch, got her head tonsured and paraded her in the Afzalpur ... «Times of India, Mar 15»