Dictionary

bridesmaid en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbɹaɪdzˌmeɪd/

Etymology

From bride + -s- + maid. In the sports and entertainment sense: in reference to the saying always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Meanings

1. A woman who attends a bride during her wedding ceremony, as part of the main wedding party.
   • I'd love to be your bridesmaid at the wedding.
   • I was promised sex. Everybody said it. You'll be a bridesmaid, you'll get sex, you'll be fighting 'em off. But not so much as a tongue in sight. 1994, Richard Curtis, Four Weddings and a Funeral, spoken by Lydia (Sophie Thompson):
2. (qualifier:social dynamics) A person or team that perennially finishes well, but never first.
   • He had taken her for a dogsbody, a beta fish, a bridesmaid, a ride-along; he had looked right past her, as likely many people did. 2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood, page 319:

Forms

Coordinates

bridesman

Deriveds

always a bridesmaid, never a bride · brosmaid · junior bridesmaid

Relateds

maid of honor · bridesmaids · bridesmaiden · bridesmatron

Translations (48)

eo fianĉamikino (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · bg шаферка (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · he שׁוּשְׁבִינָה (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ro domnișoară de onoare (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · hy հարսնաքույր (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · sv brudtärna (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · pl druhna (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · tl dama sa kasal (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · sk družica (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ja 花嫁介添人 (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ru подру́жка (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · hil abay (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · vi phù dâu (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · nb forlover (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · nb brudepike (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · fr demoiselle d'honneur (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · el παράνυμφος (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · af strooimeisie (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ru подневе́стница (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · sh deveruša (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · mk деверица (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · my သတို့သမီးအရံ (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ru дру́жка (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ru подру́жка неве́сты (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · es dama de honor (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · te తోడిపెండ్లికూతురు (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · tl abay sa kasal (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · cs družička (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · fi ikuinen kakkonen (person or team that perennially finishes well, but never first) · tr nedime (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · cmn 伴娘 (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · it damigella d'onore (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ga cailín coimhdeachta (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · th เพื่อนเจ้าสาว (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · su ᮕᮌᮛᮚᮥ (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ja ブライズメイド (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ru свиде́тельница (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · da brudepige (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · fi morsiusneito (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · fo brúðkona (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · de Brautjungfer (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · nrf fil'ye d'honneu (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · pt dama de honra (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · cmn 女儐相 /女傧相 (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · gd maighdean-phòsaidh (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · kmr berbûk (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · hu koszorúslány (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony) · ja 介添人 (woman who attends the bride at a wedding ceremony)

bridesmaid en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbɹaɪdzˌmeɪd/

Etymology

From bride + -s- + maid. In the sports and entertainment sense: in reference to the saying always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

Meanings

1. To act as a bridesmaid for; to attend a bride during her wedding ceremony.
   • "No, Trichy; I won't be Augusta's bridesmaid; I'll bide my time for bridesmaiding." 1858, Anthony Trollope, Doctor Thorne, volume 1, page 83:
   • "It's in my Data-fax, right here! December Bride: and I'm supposed to bridesmaid!" 1989, Kevin Killian, Shy, page 233:
   • And what's this? that isn't Herbie Frost with you in the canoe ; why he was best man when I bridesmaided Corinne. 1915, George Jean Nathan, Henry Louis Mencken, The smart set: a magazine of cleverness, volume 45, page 204:
   • Still they bridesmaided for her. 2010, Mark Townsend, Jesus Outside the Box: Twelve Spiritual Tales of the Unexpected, page 308:
   • After ten years of friendship and just six months of lackluster bridesmaiding, the women did not even get an invitation to the wedding. 2007, Siri Agrell, Bad Bridesmaid: True Tales of Bachelorette Brawls and Taffeta Tantrums, page 150:

Forms

Translations (3)

fi toimia morsiusneitona (act as a bridesmaid (for)) · sv vara brudtärna (act as a bridesmaid (for)) · ga seas le (act as a bridesmaid (for))