English
bridal
Bridal comes from Middle English bridale ‘a wedding, especially the feast at one’, and goes back to Old English brȳdealu.
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brȳdealuas brȳdealo‘wedding ale’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bridale‘a wedding’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596bridal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brȳdealuas brȳdealo‘wedding ale’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bridale‘a wedding’
- Englishearliest quotation 1596bridal
Earliest quotation: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto X: “[…] the crowne, which Ariadne wore / Upon her…”
Formed from bride + -al
Proto-Germanic *brūdiz
Proto-West Germanic *brūdi
Old English brȳd
Middle English bride ‘a bride’
English bride
The story
The attributive usage was strengthened by association with bride + -al.
Linked words
pairs
- bridal and ale both from Old English ealu
Every English word from Old English brȳdealu
Today it means
noun A wedding feast or festival; a wedding.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old English brȳdealu / bridal