nuptial

[ nuhp-shuhl, -chuhl ]
See synonyms for: nuptialnuptials on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. of or relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony: the nuptial day; nuptial vows.

  2. of, relating to, or characteristic of mating or the mating season of animals: nuptial behavior.

noun
  1. Usually nuptials . a wedding or marriage.

Origin of nuptial

1
First recorded in 1480–90; (Middle French ) from Latin nuptiālis, equivalent to nupti(ae) “marriage, wedding,” derivative of nūbere “(of a woman) to marry” + -ālis adjective suffix; cf. nubile

synonym study For nuptial

3. See marriage.

pronunciation note For nuptial

The pronunciations [nuhp-choo-uhl] /ˈnʌp tʃu əl/ and [nuhp-shoo-uhl], /ˈnʌp ʃu əl/, by analogy with such words as mutual and actual, are not considered standard.

Other words from nuptial

  • nup·tial·ly, adverb
  • quasi-nuptial, adjective

Words Nearby nuptial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use nuptial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nuptial

nuptial

/ (ˈnʌpʃəl, -tʃəl) /


adjective
  1. relating to marriage; conjugal: nuptial vows

  2. zoology of or relating to mating: the nuptial flight of a queen bee

Origin of nuptial

1
C15: from Latin nuptiālis, from nuptiae marriage, from nubere to marry

Derived forms of nuptial

  • nuptially, adverb

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