Capulets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A prominent family in Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet," known for their longstanding feud with the Montagues
2. Representing a lineage often associated with rivalry and conflict in dramatic literature
3. Serving as a symbol of the destructive consequences of familial loyalty and hatred in romantic narratives

Etymology: "Capulets" is the plural of "capulet," and the singular is a proper noun drawn from the Capulet family in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet," which is where the name's association with feuding houses comes from. The Capulets are the rival household of the Montagues in Verona, and their long quarrel drives the play's tragedy. Writers and readers now use the plural to mean the members of that family collectively, or, more broadly, any family or faction cast in the same role of ancient enmity. Because the name is a surname borrowed for a literary character, the word carries no older common-noun sense to trace. Its meaning rests entirely on the play, so a reader who meets it in a sentence like "the two Capulets" is being pointed back to Shakespeare's Verona.

Synonyms: family, clan, house, lineage, dynasty