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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
Emily Mercer, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
To boost growth at Abercrombie, the brand has turned to new categories, such as dresses, athleisure and bridal, to stimulate growth.
—Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
Taylor Swift is in her bridal era.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 7 Sep. 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 11 Sep. 2025.
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