Dictionary.com

laurence

[ lawr-uhns, lor- ]
/ ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

Physics. a shimmering effect seen over a hot surface, such as a pavement or roadway, on a clear and calm day, caused by the irregular refraction of light.Compare scintillation (def. 4).

QUIZZES

DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!

We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
owl
crow
piranha
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of laurence

First recorded in 1790–1800; origin unknown

Words nearby laurence

Laurel and Hardy, laurel cherry, laurel family, laurel oak, Lauren, laurence, Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl syndrome, Laurence-Moon syndrome, Laurencin, Laurens, Laurentian

Definition for laurence (2 of 2)

Laurence
[ lawr-uhns, lor- ]
/ ˈlɔr əns, ˈlɒr- /

noun

a male given name, form of Lawrence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for laurence

British Dictionary definitions for laurence

Laurence
/ (ˈlɒrəns) /

noun

Margaret, full name Jean Margaret Laurence, 1926–87, Canadian novelist and short story writer; her novels include The Stone Angel (1964)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012