tonsure
noun
[ ˈtɒnʃə ]
• a part of a monk's or priest's head left bare on top by shaving off the hair.
• "his hair is thinning up there—soon he'll have a tonsure like a monk's"
tonsure
verb
• shave the hair on top of (a monk's or priest's head); give a tonsure to.
• "Louis's half-brothers were tonsured and sent away to monasteries"
Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin tonsura, from tondere ‘shear, clip’.
