US /ˌhaɪməˈniəl/ UK /ˌhaɪmɛˈniːəl/
adj noun Freq #648236

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    relating to marriage or a wedding; nuptial, chiefly in literary use

    The poem closes with hymeneal celebrations for the reunited lovers.

  2. 2
    noun

    a wedding song or poem, especially in archaic or poetic use

    The chorus sang a hymeneal as the bridal procession entered the hall.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · relating to marriage or a... nuptialmatrimonialbridal
2 noun · a wedding song or poem,... wedding songepithalamium
Word family
Forms hymeneals
Derived forms hymeneallyunhymeneal
Related forms marriageweddingHymenepithalamium

Etymology

From Latin hymenaeus ("wedding song, nuptial"), from Ancient Greek hymenaios ("wedding song"), associated with Hymen, the god of marriage, + English -al. The noun preserves the older song sense; the adjective means "of marriage or a wedding."

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