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# baldness

noun (baldness, uncountable); adjective bald

«baldness» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Having little or no hair on the head. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#m1)
2. The state of a surface being bare, without its usual covering (the baldness of a worn tyre). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and health it is described as hair loss, often in older men and sometimes caused by illness or medicine. In stories it describes a character's look. Phrases: male-pattern baldness, going bald.

### Examples

- Baldness often runs in families. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#x1)
- Grandpa jokes about his baldness. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#x2)
- Some medicines can cause baldness for a while. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#x3)
- His baldness made him easy to spot in the crowd. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#x4)
- Many men start going bald as they get older. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#x5)
- The bald eagle is not really bald; it has white feathers on its head. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable: no plural. Adjective: bald (a bald man, a bald tyre). Myth: wearing hats does not cause baldness. Be kind: talking about someone's baldness can be rude.

## In Jewish tradition

Making a bald patch on the head as a sign of mourning for the dead. The Torah forbids this to Israel and especially to priests.

**Interpretation.** The tradition reads this as a ban on pagan mourning customs. Israel are children of God, so they should not tear at their bodies in grief, and the law is later read as a call to mourn without despair.

### Examples

- Ye are the children of the LORD your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. (Torah DEU.14.1, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/baldness/#x1)
- They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corners of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. (Torah LEV.21.5, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/baldness/#x2)
- Baldness is come upon Gaza, Ashkelon is brought to nought, the remnant of their valley; how long wilt thou cut thyself? (Prophets JER.47.5, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/baldness/#x3)
- And in that day did the Lord, the GOD of hosts, call to weeping, and to lamentation, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth; (Prophets ISA.22.12, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/baldness/#x4)
- They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads. (Prophets EZK.7.18, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/baldness/#x5)

### Note

Uncountable: no plural. Adjective: bald (a bald man, a bald tyre). Myth: wearing hats does not cause baldness. Be kind: talking about someone's baldness can be rude.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «baldness» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/baldness/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«baldness» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/baldness.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «baldness» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/B/baldness/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«baldness» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/baldness.html) on Mova free.