LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbsecond conjugation

tondeō

tondeō (present infinitive tondēre, perfect active totondī, supine tōnsum)
Classical[ˈtɔn.de.oː]Ecclesiastical[ˈtɔn.de.o]

Meaning

  1. to shave, shear, clip
    Quīn etiam nē tōnsōrī collum committeret, tondēre fīliās suās docuit.Moreover, he would not entrust his throat to a barber, but had his daughters taught to shave.106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes 5.58
  2. to crop, prune, trim
  3. to mow, reap
  4. to graze upon, browse, feed
  5. to plunder, deprive, strip

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

capillōs secō
tondeō -ēre, tōnsus — in Epistulae, ch. 14

Conjugation conjugation 2

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.tondeōtondēbamtondēbōtotondītotonderamtotonderō
2nd sg.tondēstondēbāstondēbistotondistītotonderāstotonderis
3rd sg.tondettondēbattondēbittotondittotonderattotonderit
1st pl.tondēmustondēbāmustondēbimustotondimustotonderāmustotonderimus
2nd pl.tondētistondēbātistondēbitistotondististotonderātistotonderitis
3rd pl.tondenttondēbanttondēbunttotondērunt
totondēre		totonderanttotonderint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.tondeamtondēremtotonderimtotondissem
2nd sg.tondeāstondērēstotonderīstotondissēs
3rd sg.tondeattondērettotonderittotondisset
1st pl.tondeāmustondērēmustotonderīmustotondissēmus
2nd pl.tondeātistondērētistotonderītistotondissētis
3rd pl.tondeanttondērenttotonderinttotondissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.tondeortondēbartondēbor
2nd sg.tondēris
tondēre		tondēbāris
tondēbāre		tondēberis
tondēbere
3rd sg.tondēturtondēbāturtondēbitur
1st pl.tondēmurtondēbāmurtondēbimur
2nd pl.tondēminītondēbāminītondēbiminī
3rd pl.tondenturtondēbanturtondēbuntur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.tondeartondērer
2nd sg.tondeāris
tondeāre		tondērēris
tondērēre
3rd sg.tondeāturtondērētur
1st pl.tondeāmurtondērēmur
2nd pl.tondeāminītondērēminī
3rd pl.tondeanturtondērentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.tondētondēre
pres. 2nd pl.tondētetondēminī
fut. 2nd sg.tondētōtondētor
fut. 3rd sg.tondētōtondētor
fut. 2nd pl.tondētōte—
fut. 3rd pl.tondentōtondentor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivetondēretondērī
perfect infinitivetotondissetōnsum esse
future infinitivetōnsūrum essetōnsum īrī
present participletondēns—
perfect participle—tōnsus
tōnsa, tōnsā, tōnsae, tōnsam, tōnsārum, tōnsās, tōnse, tōnsī, tōnsīs, tōnsō, tōnsōrum, tōnsōs
future participletōnsūrus
tōnsūra, tōnsūrā, tōnsūrae, tōnsūram, tōnsūrārum, tōnsūrās, tōnsūre, tōnsūrī, tōnsūrīs, tōnsūrō, tōnsūrōrum, tōnsūrōs, tōnsūrum		tondendus
tondenda, tondendā, tondendae, tondendam, tondendārum, tondendās, tondende, tondendīs, tondendōrum, tondendōs
gerundtondendī, tondendō, tondendumsupinetōnsum, tōnsū

tondĕo, tŏtondi, tonsum, 2 (collat. form acc. to the third conj.: OVES TONDVNTVR, Calend. ap. Grut. 138), v. a. for tomdeo; root in Gr. τέμνω, to cut,
I. to shear, clip, crop, to shave, etc.
I. Lit.: barbam et capillum, Cic. Tusc. 5, 20, 58; so, barbam, Mart. 11, 39, 3: capillum, Ov. M. 8, 151: cutem, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 7: os, Cat. 61, 139: ovem, Plaut. Merc. 3, 1, 28; Hor. Epod. 2, 16; Verg. G. 3, 443; Plin. 18, 27, 67, § 257; cf. lanam, Hor. C. 3, 15, 14: naevos in facie, Plin. 28, 4, 6, § 34: saltatrix tonsa, i. e. with hair clipped short (of the Consul Gabinius), Cic. Pis. 8, 18; cf.: tonsus puer or minister, cropped, i. e. common, mean, Mart. 10, 98, 9; 11, 11, 3: ad alta tonsum templa cum reum misit, i. e. acquitted (prop. without the untrimmed hair of accused persons), id. 2, 74, 3.—Mid.: lavamur et tondemur et convivimus ex consuetudine, Quint. 1, 6, 44.— Absol.: ne tonsori collum committeret, tondere filias suas docuit, Cic. Tusc. 5, 20, 58.—And in reflex. sense: ut decrescente lunā tondens calvus fiam, shaving myself, Varr. R. R. 1, 37, 2: candidior postquain tondenti barba cadebat, Verg. E. 1, 29.—
II. Transf.
A. To crop, lop, prune, trim: ille comam mollis jam tondebat hyacinthi, was cropping, Verg. G. 4, 137: violas manu, Prop. 3, 13, 29: vitem in pollicem, Col. 4, 21, 3: oleas, vites, Plin. 15, 1, 2, § 4: balsamum, id. 12, 25, 54, § 112: ilicem bipennibus, to lop, Hor. C. 4, 4, 57: myrtos, Quint. 8, 3, 8.—
B. To mow, reap: tonsas cessare novales patiere, after harvest, Verg. G. 1, 71: nocte arida prata Tondentur, id. ib. 1, 290: tondeturque seges maturos annua partus, Tib. 4, 1, 172: tonsam verrit humum, Ov. R. Am. 192; Sen. Phoen. 130.—
C. To crop, to graze, feed, or browse upon, to eat off; to pluck, gather, cull (poet.): ex uno tondentes gramina campo Lanigerae pecudes, Lucr. 2, 660: pabula (pecudes), id. 2, 317: dumeta (juvenci), Verg. G. 1, 15: campum late (equi), id. A. 3, 538: viridantia gramina morsu, id. Cul. 49: tondentes comam fluvii capellae, App. M. 5, p. 169, 37: jecur rostro (vultur), Verg. A. 6, 598: ales avida fecundum jecur, Sen. Agam. 18; cf. in a Greek constr.: illa autem, quae tondetur praecordia rostro Alitis, Sil. 13, 839. —
D. As in Engl., to shave, fleece, for to deprive, plunder (very rare): adibo hunc . . . itaque tondebo auro usque ad vivam cutem, Plaut. Bacch. 2, 3, 8: tondens purpureā regna paterna comā, Prop. 3, 19 (4, 18), 22.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*temh₁-?
  2. Latintondeō

Proto-Indo-European *tend-der. Proto-Italic *tondeō Latin tondeo From Proto-Italic *tondeō, from Proto-Indo-European *tend- (“to split, cut off”). See also Latin temnō, tempus, templum, Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō), Welsh tam (“morsel”), Middle Irish tamnaim (“I cut off”), Proto-Slavic *tęti "to split, cleave", and the second element of Latin aestimō (“to appraise, value, estimate”).

Elsewhere
  • Englishtonse
  • Italiantosarefrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
  • Portuguesetosarfrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
  • Friuliantosâfrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
  • Lombardtosàfrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
  • Lombardtosaifrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
  • Piedmontesetoséfrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
  • Venetantoxarfrom Vulgar Latin *tōnsō
Balkan Romance
  • Romaniantunde
  • Romaniantundere
  • Aromaniantundu, tundiri
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalantondre
  • Occitantondre
  • Gascontónerfrom Occitan tondre
  • Gascontónderfrom Occitan tondre
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchtondre
  • unknowntondefrom Franco-Provençal tondre
  • unknowntoundrairfrom Franco-Provençal tondre
  • unknowntounderfrom Franco-Provençal tondre
Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishtundirfrom Old Spanish tonder
Italo-Romance
  • Corsicantonda
  • Corsicantonde
  • Old Italiantondere
  • Lucaniantùnne
  • Calabresetùndirifrom Sicilian tùnniri
Padanian
  • Liguriantónde
  • Alpinetóndafrom Lombard tond
  • Piedmontesetondé
  • Piedmontesetóndie
  • Piedmontesetondai
  • Piedmontesetónde
  • Venetantondir
  • Venetantondar

In English words that came into English from tondeō

  • tonsuretonsūra
  • tonsorialtonsor
  • tonsiletonsilis
  • tonsortōnsor

Quick answers

What does tondeō mean in Latin?
tondeō, a verb, means “to shave, shear, clip; to crop, prune, trim; to mow, reap”.
What are the principal parts of tondeō?
tondeō, tondēre, totondī, tōnsum (second conjugation).
How do you pronounce tondeō?
In classical Latin, [ˈtɔn.de.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈtɔn.de.o].
Where does tondeō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *temh₁-? → Latin tondeō.
Which English words come from tondeō?
English words that go back to Latin tondeō include tonsure, tonsorial, tonsile and tonsor.