Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “tonsure” come from?

tonsure (French) comes from Old French tonsure, from Latin tonsūra, from Latin tondeō, from Proto-Indo-European tend-, from Proto-Indo-European temh₂- — to stretch, string; to cut.

tonsure (French): tonsure; first-person singular present indicative...

Definitions

  1. tonsure; first-person singular present indicative...

Ancestry of “tonsure”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtonsuretonsure
2Latintonsūra—
3Latintondeō—
4Proto-Indo-Europeantend-to stretch, to extend; to split, cut off
5Proto-Indo-Europeantemh₂-to stretch, string; to cut

Words derived from “tonsure”

  • tonsura
  • tonsurer
Every word from Proto-Indo-European temh₂- →