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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
Shelby Wax, Vogue, 10 Jan. 2025
Photos posted by Garcelle Beauvais, who starred alongside Jamie in The Jamie Foxx Show, showed the Oscar winner clad in a traditional suit and bow tie while Corinne beamed in a high-low Monique Lhuillier off-the-shoulder bridal gown, which was one of her three looks.
—Michelle Lee, People.com, 6 Jan. 2025
Lenore T. Adkins, Bon Appétit, 14 Jan. 2025
Later in the night, Kuri changed into a second bridal dress.
—Ashlyn Robinette, People.com, 13 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for bridal 
Dictionary Entries Near bridal
Cite this Entry
“Bridal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridal. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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