tonsura

There is a body of reserves always in waiting upon the vast army of regular ecclesiastics: men ready to push forward into the ranks, but who stop short at the _prima tonsura_ till they have ascertained how much their chances will be bettered by taking the final and irrevocable step.

The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864 Various

"Britones toti mundo contrarii, moribus Romanis inimici, non solum in misa sed in tonsura etiam", is probably of the seventh century.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson-Clairvaux 1840-1916 1913

This, though there is no real evidence that it was the practice of the Druids, was nicknamed tonsura magorum.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson-Clairvaux 1840-1916 1913

Later, the Roman party jeered at it as the tonsura Simonis Magi, in contradistinction to their "tonsure of St. Peter".

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 3: Brownson-Clairvaux 1840-1916 1913

"_Denarius Angliæ, qui nominatur Sterlingus, rotundus sine tonsura, ponderabit 32 grana in medio spicæ.

Notes and Queries, Number 26, April 27, 1850 Various

a young man's first shave (tonsura) was an essential part of his coming of age ceremony.

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