bridal, n. (a.)
(ˈbraɪdəl)
Forms: 1 br{iacu}d-ealo, -ealu, 2–6 brydale, bridale, 3, 7– bridal. Also (3 bridel), 3–4 (s.w.) brudale (y), 3–7 bridall, 4 bruydale (bruytale, bridhale), 4–5 (Kent) bredale, 5 bredeale, 6 brydall, brideall, brydeale, brideale, (7 bride hall).
[OE. br{yacu}d-ealo (infl. -ealoð), lit. ‘wedding ale’, ‘wedding banquet or conviviality’: see bride n. 5 (in comb.), and ale. The analytical form, with stress (primary or secondary) on -ale, never died out, was very common c 1600, and is still used as a historical or antiquarian term: see bride-ale. On the other hand the individualized ˈbridal, with the stress and sense of ale quite suppressed, occurs before 1300, and remains as the living word.]
1. A wedding feast or festival; a wedding.
(The sense ‘wedding feast’ is distinct in early usage; by the time of Wyclif the word was often extended to include the whole proceedings of the wedding or marriage, in which use it was often made plural (cf. L. nuptiæ, sponsalia, F. noces, ME. sposailes, mod. nuptials); it is now chiefly poetic, except when used attributively (see 2).
| 1075–6 O.E. Chron. (Worcester MS.) Þær wæs þæt bryd ealo [Laud MS. eala] þæt wæs maneᵹra manna bealo. Ibid. (Laud MS.) æt þam bryd ealoð [Worcester MS. brydlope] æt Norðwic. c 1200 Ormin 14002, I þe land o Galile Wass an bridale ȝarrkedd. a 1300 Cursor M. 13363 Bridall [v.r. bridel, bridale] was þar broiden an. 1340 Ayenb. 233 Þe wyse maydines..yeden in mid þe bredgome to þe bredale. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 36 Alle þis Riche..weoren bede to þe Bruyt-ale [v.r. in B., C., bre-, bri-, bru-, bruy-, brydale]. 1382 Wyclif Song of Sol. Argt. 73 The bridalis of Crist and of the Chirche. c 1440 Gesta Rom. (1879) 301 Þe day was sette of hire bredeale. 1552 Huloet, Brydeale, nuptus. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 12 It is, as telth vs this olde tale, Meete, that a man be at his owne brydale. 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 20 A solem brydeale of a proper coople. 1581 Marbeck Bk. of Notes 140 The pompe of Bridealls. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iv. 150 Such obseruancie As fits the Bridall. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 89 Let us a' to the bridal, For there will be lilting there. 1808 Scott Lochinvar iii, O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar? 1859 Tennyson Enid 231, I..Will clothe her for her bridals like the sun. |
| fig. 1632 G. Herbert Temple, Vertue i, Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, The bridall of the earth and skie. |
2. a. Since 1600, mostly used attributively, by association with adjectives (of
Lat. origin) in
-al, as
nuptial,
natal,
mortal, etc. Most of the earlier attributive uses or combinations of
bride also reappear with
bridal, as
bridal bed,
bridal bowl,
bridal cake,
bridal chamber,
bridal house,
bridal knot,
bridal ring, etc., and many of more modern character, as
bridal cheer,
bridal day,
bridal dinner,
bridal dress,
bridal favour,
bridal morn,
bridal veil,
bridal wreath, etc., etc., where
wedding may always be substituted. These are sometimes unnecessarily hyphened.
bridal suite, in a hotel, a suite of rooms designed especially for use by a newly-married couple.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 50 Brydale howse, nuptorium. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. ii. 3 Where and when her bridale cheare Should be solemniz'd. ― Prothal. 17 Adornd with dainty gemmes..Against the brydale day. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 221 Gentlemen, forward to the bridall dinner. Ibid. iv. i. 181, I will bring thee to thy Bridall chamber. c 1600 Lyrics for Lutenists (Collier) 3 Shee can..trimme with plums a bridall cake. 1611 Ram Alley iv. i. in Hazl. Dodsley X. 338 Quaffing out our bridal bowl. 1714 Young Force Relig. i. 85 Now on the bridal-bed his eyes were cast. 1717 Pope Eloisa 219 For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring. 1800 M. Edgeworth Belinda xix, Lady Anne Percival came..with a bridal favour in her hand. 1810 Southey Thalaba vii. xxxi, Who comes from the bridal chamber? 1850 Tennyson In Mem. Concl. 28 But where is she, the bridal flower..She enters, glowing like the moon Of Eden on its bridal bower. 1874 Black Pr. Thule 9 Marching at the head of a bridal procession. 1925 N. Coward Fallen Angels 11, The room decorated like a Bridal Suite. 1938 H. Asbury Sucker's Progr. 265 The bridal suite was called ‘Paradise’. 1970 Woman's Own 24 Jan. 3/2 London's Royal Garden Hotel has offered the couple a bridal suite. |
b. Sometimes more distinctively adjective, in construction or in sense:
= Of or pertaining to a bride, worn by a bride (
e.g. bridal bouquet,
veil,
wreath); bride-like.
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. 140 With a simpering altogether bridal. 1809 J. Barlow Columb. iii. 501 Nor shalt thou e'er be told, my bridal fair. 1865 Miss Muloch Chr. Mistake 108 She stood, all in her fine garments, a fair, white, bridal-like vision. |
c. bridal wreath: a Chilean shrub of the family Saxifragaceæ (see
quot. 1962); see also
quot. 1961.
| 1889 Cent. Dict., Bridal wreath, the Francoa ramosa. 1961 F. Perry Shrubs & Trees for Smaller Garden v. 139 Spiraea x arguta, Bridal Wreath. The most widely grown species, with very slender twigs festooned with dainty white flowers. 1962 Amat. Gardening 27 Jan. 23/1 The plant known as Bridal Wreath is Francoa ramosa and comes from Chile. It produces long sprays of white flowers in July and August. |
† 3. (
ellipt.)
pl. rare.
= bridaller.
| c 1630 Risdon Surv. Devon §225 (1810) 239 Apparell'd in their best array, As bridals use upon their nuptial day. |