Brewer's: Laurence

(Friar). The Franciscan friar who undertakes to marry Romeo and Juliet. To save Juliet from a second marriage he gives her a sleeping draught, and she is carried to the family vault as dead. Romeo finds her there, and believing her sleep to be the sleep of death, kills himself. On waking, Juliet discovers Romeo dead at her side, and kills herself also. (Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet.) (See Lawrence.)

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language