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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
Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
Nicola Peltz Beckham added a special touch to her vow renewal ceremony to Brooklyn Peltz Beckham by rewearing her mom Claudia Heffner Peltz's bridal gown from her 1985 nuptials to Nelson Peltz.
—Michelle Lee, People.com, 15 Aug. 2025
Ingrid Vasquez, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Gomez is also in her bridal era following a December 2024 engagement to music producer Benny Blanco.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 30 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 7 Sep. 2025.
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