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A secondary meaning of Old English ealu, the ancestor of Modern English ale, was “feast, banquet,” at which the drinking of ale was a prominent activity. There were a number of these feasts and banquets that survived into the 19th century, but the oldest and best-established was the bride-ale, or wedding feast, attested in Old English as brydealu. In Middle English the ale half of the word had lost its stress and was associated with the noun suffix –al (as in funeral) and the adjective suffix (as in parental). By the 18^th^ century, bridal was perceived primarily as an adjective, as it is today.
Examples of bridal in a Sentence
Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 5 Sep. 2024
Photo: Courtesy of Monique Lhuillier Vivienne Westwood bridal fall 2025.
—Shelby Wax, Vogue, 5 Nov. 2024
Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 19 Nov. 2024
Featuring an internal corset and a bow tied at the waist, Roan’s second ensemble nodded to bridal gowns of the 1950s and ’60s.
—Hannah Malach, WWD, 4 Nov. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near bridal
Cite this Entry
“Bridal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridal. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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