Editing Tonsure (section)

{{Short description|Religious shaving of hair on the head}}
[[File:Tonsure fx tr.png|thumb|287px|Roman tonsure (Catholicism)]]
'''Tonsure''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|ɒ|n|ʃ|ər}}) is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the [[Latin]] word ''{{lang|la|tonsura}}'' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0060%3Aentry%3Dtonsura |author=Charlton T. Lewis |work=An Elementary Latin Dictionary |title=tōnsūra |access-date=August 8, 2015 }}</ref>) and referred to a specific practice in medieval [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholicism]], abandoned by papal order in 1972. Tonsure, in its earliest Greek and Roman origin, was used as a sign or signifier for slavery. [https://www.openculture.com/2018/12/where-did-the-monks-haircut-come-from.html] {{citation needed|date=June 2024}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hofmann |first=Paul |date=September 15, 1972 |title="Vatican Abolishes the Tonsure, 1,500-Year-Old Clerical Rite" |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/15/archives/vatican-abolishes-the-tonsure-1500yearold-clerical-rite-vatican.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215044917/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/09/15/archives/vatican-abolishes-the-tonsure-1500yearold-clerical-rite-vatican.html |archive-date=December 15, 2024 |access-date=October 21, 2024 |work=The New York Times |pages=1}}</ref> Tonsure can also refer to the secular practice of shaving all or part of the scalp to show support or sympathy, or to designate mourning. Current usage more generally refers to cutting or shaving for monks, devotees, or mystics of any religion as a symbol of their renunciation of worldly fashion and esteem.

Tonsure is still a traditional practice in Catholicism by specific religious orders (with papal permission). It is also commonly used in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] for newly baptised members and is frequently used for [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] novices, [[Bhikkhu|monks]], and [[Bhikkhunī|nuns]]. The complete shaving of one's head bald, or just shortening the hair, exists as a traditional practice in Islam after completion of the ''[[Hajj]]'' and is also practised by a number of [[Hindu]] religious orders.