To give the tonsure to. Usually in passive, to be shorn a monk; also occasionally reflexive. Also to be shorn in, to be initiated to the religious…

transitive. To give (a person) a tonsure as a sign of admission to holy orders. Obsolete.

esp. To tonsure as a cleric. †Frequently with complement, to shave (a person) a monk, canon, priest, friar; also, to make (a ‘crown’) by shaving.

transitive. To clip or shave the hair of; to confer the ecclesiastical tonsure upon.