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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
Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 23 Oct. 2025
While the bridal gown is the pièce de résistance of every wedding day, the mother of the bride dress holds VIP status as well.
—Kerry Pieri, Vogue, 19 Oct. 2025
Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 25 Oct. 2025
The mother–daughter styling moment also represents a shift in bridal footwear.
—Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 21 Oct. 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 29 Oct. 2025.
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