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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
Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 30 June 2025
In 1990, Wang created her own brand by bringing her distinct fashion edge to the traditional world of bridal.
—Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 26 June 2025
Kiana Murden, Vogue, 1 July 2025
But as the weekend wore on, by far the largest journalistic focus became the social draw of the bridal couple themselves, as seen in the interestingly eclectic mix of the 200-plus guests.
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 1 July 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 6 Jul. 2025.
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