bride English · revision 7905

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725|origins=gem-pro *brūdiz}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɹaɪd/ ''(UK)''; /bɹaɪd/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English brid, brude, [[inh|ang|brȳd|t=bride, betrothed woman]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *brūdiz,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Dutch [[m|nl|bruid]], German [[m|de|Braut]] and Old Norse brúðr,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a word of uncertain or unknown origin, not found outside Germanic.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Its Gothic cognate brūþs meant daughter-in-law, as did the forms borrowed into Medieval Latin and Old French.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Since in ancient Indo-European custom the wife lived with her husband's family, the only newly wed woman in a household would be the daughter-in-law.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A woman newly married or about to be: about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Some trace the word to the PIE root *bʰrew-, which forms words for cooking and brewing.^(Etymonline) In the 15th and 16th centuries it could also mean a bridegroom or spouse.^(OED 1989) A girlfriend is slang from 1935.^(OED 1989) The [[bridegroom]] is Old English brȳdguma, from guma, man, later altered to match [[groom]],^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986) and [[bridal]] is from Old English brȳdealu, wedding feast, literally bride-ale.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – brȳd.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1440 – a bridegroom (obsolete).^(OED 1989)

+ * 16th century – bridemaid.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1935 – a girlfriend (slang).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A woman who is about to be married or has just been married.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[brideless]]

+ * [[bridelike]]

+ * [[bridal]]

+ * [[bridegroom]]

+ * [[bridesmaid]]

+ * [[bride-price]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[groom]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ MWU records a separate bride from French, literally a rein or bridle.^(MWU 2024) In Shropshire dialect a bride was a disease causing stiff joints in pigs' feet.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}