† bridelopen.

Etymology: Probably < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic brúðhlaup , brullaup , Old Swedish bruþlöp , brullöp (Swedish bröllopp ), Old Danish brudlop , brollup (Danish bryllup )), cognate with Middle High German brūtlouf (German Brautlauf , now hist.) < the Germanic base of bride n.¹ + the Germanic base of leap n.¹ (probably in its original sense ‘act of running’).Compare (with a suffixed form of the second element: see -t suffix³ 1) Old Dutch brūtloft (Middle Dutch brulocht , bruloft ; Dutch bruiloft , brullocht ), Old Saxon brūdhlōft (Middle Low German brūtlacht ), Old High German brūthlouft (Middle High German brūtlouft , early modern German brautlauft ), all in the sense ‘wedding’. The Germanic parallels imply that the meaning of the second element was still ‘act of running’ when the compound was formed, but its exact significance in the context of wedding customs is uncertain and disputed. Attestation in Old English. In Old English the word is attested only in sources that also show undisputed Scandinavian loanwords. The first element apparently shows remodelling after Old English brȳd bride n.¹ With the second element compare loup n.¹ (which reflects independent borrowing of the early Scandinavian cognate of leap n.¹) and also lope n. With quot. OE³ compare quot. lOE at bridal n. 1.