Where does “tonsure” come from?
Tonsure derives from Middle English tonsure, from Old French tonsure, from Latin tonsura, nominalization of tondeo meaning to shear or cut, from Proto-Indo-European tend-, itself from Proto-Indo-European ten-.
tonsure (English): To shave the crown of the head as a sign of...
Definitions
- To shave the crown of the head as a sign of...
Ancestry of “tonsure”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tonsure | — |
| 2 | Old French | tonsure | tonsure |
| 3 | Latin | tonsūra | — |
| 4 | Latin | tondeō | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tend- | to stretch, to extend; to split, cut off |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | temh₂- | to stretch, string; to cut |