A nunnery is a convent of nuns. It is a community of women who live together and devote themselves to religious life, prayer, and service to others. The term "convent" is often used interchangeably with "nunnery". In modern English usage, the term "convent" almost invariably refers to a community of women, while "monastery" and "friary" are used for communities of men. In Shakespeares play, Hamlet, the phrase "get thee to a nunnery" is used, which was an Elizabethan slang term for a brothel. However, in the context of the play, Hamlet was actually telling Ophelia to go to a convent to protect herself from the corrupt world.