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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, 19 Oct. 2025
So far, we've been treated to a close look at three Ralph Lauren bridal gowns worn by the 33-year-old pop star on her big day.
—Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 11 Oct. 2025
Julia Teti, Footwear News, 17 Oct. 2025
Another bridal designer, Christian Siriano, had a more specific idea about what Swift would choose.
—Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 16 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Bridal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridal. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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