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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Word “Groom” For Husband To Be Come From and What Does it Mean?

Where Did the Word “Groom” For Husband To Be Come From and What Does it Mean?

July 11, 2020 by Karen Hill

Bride comes from the Old English word bryd, while at the same time the word guma simply meant “a young man.”

The two together, brydguma, referred to a suitor looking for a wife.

This compound changed in the sixteenth century when groom evolved within folk language to take over from guma as a description of a young man, boy, or lad who was commonly hired to work the stables and groom horses among other chores but who was still seeking a wife.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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