Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tonsure

/ˈtɑn.ʃɚ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.94 in modern English

Syllables
ton-sure
IPA
/ˈtɑn.ʃɚ/
7
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To shave the crown of the head of (a person) as a sign of humility and religious vocation.

Transitive verb

noun

The hairstyle and characteristic bald patch resulting from being tonsured.

noun

A ritual shaving of this kind.

Etymology

From Middle English tonsure, from Anglo-Norman and Old French tonsure, from Latin tonsūra (“a clipping, trimming”), from tondeō (“shear, clip, trim”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *temh₁-, tonsure, -, tonsūra

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈtɑn.ʃɚ/
  • British English: /ˈtɒn.ʃə(ɹ)/

Usage

Inflected Forms

tonsures (present, singular) tonsuring (participle, present) tonsured (participle, past) tonsured (past) tonsures (plural)

Derived Forms

untonsured

Questions

How do you pronounce tonsure?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtɑn.ʃɚ/.
What does tonsure mean?
To shave the crown of the head of (a person) as a sign of humility and religious vocation.
Where does tonsure come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce tonsure

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “tonsure”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈtɑn.ʃɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “tonsure”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “tonsure” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.