Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 19 down vote favorite

Instead of taking a bridal portrait, my niece and her fiancé had photos taken together which she insisted on calling groomals. While I guess this term is the accepted name for this new trend, I found it annoying.

What is an adjective form of groom equivalent to bridal?

share|improve this question
4  
The word that popped into my head is gromulent. Use it wisely. – Matt Эллен Nov 21 '11 at 18:58
Groomal? Gromulal? Gromulan? – Chris B. Behrens Nov 21 '11 at 19:33
6  
Under duress, possibly? – JeffSahol Nov 21 '11 at 21:00
It may or may not be "accepted," but groomal is funny, and that gets points from me. – horatio Nov 22 '11 at 18:30

5 Answers

up vote 15 down vote accepted

The OED has groomish but it's a nonce word with only one citation.

Interestingly, bridal wasn't formed from bride and the suffix -al. It was originally a noun bride ale, that is, "wedding feast". Since 1600 it was used as an adjective by association with words with the -al suffix, like nuptial, natal, mortal, etc.

share|improve this answer
Interesting! So maybe something derived from "bachelor party" or even "stag party" would be more apt. – erickson Nov 21 '11 at 19:12
8  
Yes. I nominate Bacchanal. – MετάEd Nov 21 '11 at 19:39
"Groomish" actually appears in surprisingly many books (on Google Book Search), but in the great majority of them, as in the OED's citation, it relates to horses rather than weddings -- and even when it does relate to weddings, it sense is closer to "resembling a groom, in the manner of a groom" than to "of a groom, pertaining to a groom". – ruakh Nov 21 '11 at 23:06
While something like "baccalaureal" might be a more defensible derivation from "bachelor", I will have a lot more fun complimenting my niece on her "bacchanal photos!" – erickson Nov 22 '11 at 18:38
1  
I think this means that the groom's things are "bridal" as well. – Marcus Adams Jan 12 '12 at 20:39
up vote 8 down vote

Technically speaking I'm thinking the photos your niece took should be referred to as bridal on the basis that the online Merriam-Webster and Oxford Dictionaries refer to "bridal" as applying to both the bride AND the newly married couple. In addition, the Merriam Webster and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary also use the definition of "relating to a bride or a wedding".

I agree that there may be a need to coin a term that more specifically refers to the groom but in the context of your example such a term does not seem necessary.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bridal http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/bridal

share|improve this answer
up vote 4 down vote

Groomal sounds OK to me, as in Groomal Shower.

share|improve this answer
7  
It's probably just a cultural difference, but "groomal shower" sounds to me like ending the stag night with a bucket of ice-cold water... – Peter Taylor Nov 21 '11 at 22:36
In relation to "bridal" this word would seem to make sense. Is it actually used by a significant amount of people though? The article that uses the term was published in 1981 and I haven't been able to find a dictionary entry for "groomal" with the exception of one in the Urban Dictionary (urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Groomal%20Shower). – Bjorn Nov 21 '11 at 23:07
up vote 1 down vote

Groomal or Nuptial

"Groomal" to refer to something specific to the groom to contrast with "bridal" when it refers to something specific to the bride. So, a picture of the bride would be a "bridal portrait" while one of the groom would be a "groomal portrait".

These would contrast with "nuptial portrait" for a picture of bride and groom together, the example that provoked this question.

share|improve this answer
up vote -1 down vote

Groomular

No, that's not a real word - yet. But "-ular" seems to be a good all-purpose way to turn a noun into an adjective meaning "of or relating to X".

share|improve this answer
4  
"groomular"? I don't see that happening. – Malvolio Nov 21 '11 at 23:26

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.