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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
Michelle Lee, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
By 2000, Madison opened her own bridal boutique for custom, couture bridal gowns.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 27 July 2025
Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
In addition to dresses, Bahnsen’s bridal collections include flowing skirts and bralettes.
—Kati Chitrakorn, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 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 22 Aug. 2025.
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