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bridal, n. (a.)|ˈbraɪdəl| Forms: 1 bríd-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. brýd-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).
1075–6O.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. c1200Ormin 14002, I þe land o Galile Wass an bridale ȝarrkedd. a1300Cursor M. 13363 Bridall [v.r. bridel, bridale] was þar broiden an. 1340Ayenb. 233 Þe wyse maydines..yeden in mid þe bredgome to þe bredale. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 36 Alle þis Riche..weoren bede to þe Bruyt-ale [v.r. in B., C., bre-, bri-, bru-, bruy-, brydale]. 1382Wyclif Song of Sol. Argt. 73 The bridalis of Crist and of the Chirche. c1440Gesta Rom. (1879) 301 Þe day was sette of hire bredeale. 1552Huloet, Brydeale, nuptus. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 12 It is, as telth vs this olde tale, Meete, that a man be at his owne brydale. 1575Laneham Let. (1871) 20 A solem brydeale of a proper coople. 1581Marbeck Bk. of Notes 140 The pompe of Bridealls. 1604Shakes. Oth. iii. iv. 150 Such obseruancie As fits the Bridall. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 89 Let us a' to the bridal, For there will be lilting there. 1808Scott Lochinvar iii, O come ye in peace here, or come ye in war, Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar? 1859Tennyson Enid 231, I..Will clothe her for her bridals like the sun. fig.1632G. 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.
c1440Promp. Parv. 50 Brydale howse, nuptorium. 1596Spenser 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. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 221 Gentlemen, forward to the bridall dinner. Ibid. iv. i. 181, I will bring thee to thy Bridall chamber. c1600Lyrics for Lutenists (Collier) 3 Shee can..trimme with plums a bridall cake. 1611Ram Alley iv. i. in Hazl. Dodsley X. 338 Quaffing out our bridal bowl. 1714Young Force Relig. i. 85 Now on the bridal-bed his eyes were cast. 1717Pope Eloisa 219 For her the Spouse prepares the bridal ring. 1800M. Edgeworth Belinda xix, Lady Anne Percival came..with a bridal favour in her hand. 1810Southey Thalaba vii. xxxi, Who comes from the bridal chamber? 1850Tennyson In Mem. Concl. 28 But where is she, the bridal flower..She enters, glowing like the moon Of Eden on its bridal bower. 1874Black Pr. Thule 9 Marching at the head of a bridal procession. 1925N. Coward Fallen Angels 11, The room decorated like a Bridal Suite. 1938H. Asbury Sucker's Progr. 265 The bridal suite was called ‘Paradise’. 1970Woman'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.
1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. 140 With a simpering altogether bridal. 1809J. Barlow Columb. iii. 501 Nor shalt thou e'er be told, my bridal fair. 1865Miss 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.
1889Cent. Dict., Bridal wreath, the Francoa ramosa. 1961F. 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. 1962Amat. 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.
c1630Risdon Surv. Devon §225 (1810) 239 Apparell'd in their best array, As bridals use upon their nuptial day. |