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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
Alex Apatoff, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Then there’s the wedding designers themselves: during the most recent bridal fashion week, Vivienne Westwood showed a number of bridal looks with body-length silver necklaces.
—Elise Taylor, Vogue, 29 Apr. 2025
Emma Specter, Vogue, 2 May 2025
Cecilia Nguyen, no relation to Chinh, is the owner of Tien Hung Jewelry inside the Mills Market, and her family now also owns a restaurant, a dental office, a bridal shop, a bakery, a tailor and other businesses in and around Mills50.
—Michael Cuglietta, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bridal
Cite this Entry
“Bridal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridal. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
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