Word of the Day Archive
Sunday August 5, 2007
nuptial \NUHP-shuhl; -chuhl\ , adjective:
1. Of or pertaining to marriage; done or used at a wedding; as, "nuptial rites and ceremonies."
2. Of, pertaining to, or occurring in the mating season.
noun:
1. Marriage; wedding; nuptial ceremony; -- usually used in the plural.
The couple entered the town of Chalons, stopping on the way to listen to a concert (which must have been torture for Monsieur, who had no ear for music) and then heard a nuptial blessing from the Bishop.
-- Christine Pevitt, Philippe, Duc D'Orleans
Angela remembered vividly the mild indecorousness of the occasion -- not the usual nuptial jollity, but an oddly irreverent atmosphere, light and ungrateful.
-- Alice Thomas Ellis, The Sin Eater
The two ducks may never approach each other again, their species' habit being to put on flashy nuptial plumage and choose new partners every spring.
-- Mary Parker Buckles, Margins
As the bride and groom arrived, the city-issued clock registered five minutes to noon, just moments before the chapel would close, almost ensuring that, no matter how esteemed the couple, the nuptials would not be reported in the next day's papers.
-- Larry Tye, The Father of Spin
Nuptial comes from Latin nuptialis, from nuptiae "marriage, wedding," from the past participle of nubere, properly, "to cover, to veil," hence, "to marry," as the head of the bride was covered with a veil.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for nuptial
