Definition of "Lawrence"

Lawrence

/ˈlɒ.ɹəns/

proper noun
countable and uncountable, plural Lawrences
1. A male given name from Latin, the usual spelling of Laurence in the U.S.; masculine of Lauren
  Quotations
  "I named him Lawrence. After my father. Pete, that's my husband, he never really liked the name Lawrence. He thought it wasn't very..." she shut her eyes for a moment, shaking her head slowly, "...very masculine." She opened her eyes and smiled ruefully. " That's a good one, isn't it?"
  2003, Elise Title, Inside Out: A Mystery, St.Martin's Minotaur, published 2003, page 69
2. A surname originating as a patronymic.
  Quotations
  "My name is Richard Lawrence."Candice thought he had a storybook name. Like Lawrence of Arabia, she said, but what she always called him was Ricky. Just a jump away from Tricky Dicky.
  2007, John Dunning, The Bookworm's Last Fling, Simon & Schuster, published 2007, page 321
3. A placename:
  1. A city, the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States.
  2. A city in Massachusetts, United States and one of the two county seats of Essex County.
  3. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Lawrence Township.
  4. A small town in Otago, New Zealand, named after Henry Montgomery Lawrence.
4. (US, law, sexuality, US politics, informal, uncountable) Ellipsis of Lawrence v. Texas. A 2003 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex sexual relations; and reaffirmed the existence of a right to privacy under due process following the 14th Amendment.
5. A haze caused by heat; named after a third-century Christian killed by Emperor Valerian by being burned.