Dictionary
ton•sure
Pronunciation: (ton'shur), [key]
—n., v., -sured, -sur•ing.
—
n.
1. the act of cutting the hair or shaving the head.
2. the shaving of the head or of some part of it as a religious practice or rite, esp. in preparation for entering the priesthood or a monastic order.
3. the part of a cleric's head, usually the crown, left bare by shaving the hair.
4. the state of being shorn.
—
v.t.
1. to confer the ecclesiastical tonsure upon.
2. to subject to tonsure.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.