Where does “bride” come from?

Bride comes from Old English brȳd, which is of uncertain origin, though it may relate to Spanish brida and French bride through medieval linguistic contact.

bride (English): A woman in the context of her own wedding; one...

Definitions

  1. A woman in the context of her own wedding; one...

Ancestry of “bride”, step by step

bride traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via French bride

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbridebridle
2Middle Frenchbride—
3Old Frenchbriderein, bridle
4Middle High Germanbrīdel—

via Middle English bride

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbridea bride; a woman recently married or to be...
2Old Englishbrȳdbride
3Proto-West Germanic*brūdibride
4Proto-Germanicbrūdizbride

via English bird

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbirdA member of the class of animals Aves in the...
2Middle Englishbrida young bird, a bird in general; Alternative form...
3Old Englishbriddyoung bird, chick; chicken

Words derived from “bride”

Every word from Middle High German brīdel →