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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
Lisa Lockwood, Footwear News, 10 Nov. 2025
Her second ensemble consisted of a chic suit with a fur collar, while her third bridal look was made up of an understated satin and chiffon dress with a mid-calf hem.
—Nicole Briese, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 25 Nov. 2025
And with all that buy-in from staff, Abercrombie & Fitch has been able to expand its business with efforts such as a bigger bridal offering, a new NFL fashion partnership and starting to sell Abercrombie Kids at Macy’s.
—Phil Wahba, Fortune, 24 Nov. 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 2 Dec. 2025.
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