the.com/bridesmaid
a paid-in-cake bodyguard for love, dressed in a color she swore she'd never wear.
means A woman, usually a friend or relative of the bride, who attends and supports her during a wedding and its preparations.
from A transparent compound: 'bride' plus 'maid.' 'Bride' descends from Old English 'bryd,' a word for a woman about to be or newly married, with cousins across the Germanic languages. 'Maid' is a clipping of 'maiden,' from Old English 'mægden,' meaning a young unmarried woman or girl. So a bridesmaid was literally the maiden who stands by the bride — a pairing that's been doing wedding duty in English for centuries, alongside the older 'bridesman' for the male counterpart.
- ancient origin
- Romans dressed her identically to confuse vengeful spirits
- decoy duty
- matching dresses meant to baffle jealous demons or exes
- average cost
- American bridesmaids spend hundreds, sometimes thousands, per wedding
- record squad
- largest bridal party topped one hundred bridesmaids
kate middleton's bridesmaids — 9 bridesmaids at royal wedding to prince william, april 2011
meghan markle's bridesmaids — 5 bridesmaids at royal wedding to prince harry, may 2018