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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
Chiara Kim, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
As Sam Ham evolved from its early collections into fine jewelry, bridal initially felt like a natural direction.
—Lauren Fisher, Footwear News, 3 June 2026
Janine Henni, PEOPLE, 8 June 2026
Lipa’s outfit echoed that bridal blueprint exactly 55 years later, although her skirt suit was Schiaparelli Haute Couture and her look featured a blush bustier (Bianca had gone sans shirt).
—Bailey Bujnosek, InStyle, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bridal
Cite this Entry
“Bridal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridal. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
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