Etymograph

English

bridal

Bridal comes from Middle English bridale ‘a wedding, especially the feast at one’, and goes back to Old English brȳdealu.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150brȳdealu1as brȳdealo‘wedding ale’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bridale1‘a wedding’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1596bridal1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bridal
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto X: “[…] the crowne, which Ariadne wore / Upon her…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150brȳdealuWiktionary, English bridalas brȳdealo‘wedding ale’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bridaleWiktionary, English bridal‘a wedding’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1596bridalWiktionary, English bridal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book VI, Canto X: “[…] the crowne, which Ariadne wore / Upon her…”

The story

The attributive usage was strengthened by association with bride + -al.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

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Today it means

noun A wedding feast or festival; a wedding.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bridal”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old English brȳdealu / bridal