Talk:nuptials

Plural usage: "of five talents he had, gave two and a half in marriage with an only daughter he had of his own, and two and a half in marriage with the daughter of Eudamidas, and in one and the same day solemnized both their nupitals." 1935, An anthology of world prose, Carl Van Doren (snippet view)

"The cousins celebrated their nupitals together, and then moved into adjoining palaces which the Sultan had built for them." 1994, "10. Türk Tarih Kongresi: Volume 5" (snippet view).--Prosfilaes 04:56, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Etymology?

What’s the precise etymology of nuptials?

It is clearly related to nuptial (from Latin nuptiālis), but that is (in current use) an adjective, so not generally pluralized. That is, was nuptial (singular) ever used as a noun, hence pluralized, or was the adjective directly pluralized, as in “your nuptial ceremonies/vows” → “nuptials”?

A minor detail, admittedly, but some interest.

—Nils von Barth (nbarth) (talk) 06:15, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

By way of follow-up: the Latin nūptiae (“wedding”) is also plurale tantum, so I wonder if nuptials (plural) is influenced by or derived directly from this Latin noun (rather than passing through an adjective). I’ve just put a note on “plural only” in the etymology, not speculating on the precise path.

—Nils von Barth (nbarth) (talk) 06:34, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

Typo. —Nils von Barth (nbarth) (talk) 06:35, 11 January 2012 (UTC)

nuptial is from nuptiālis (borrowed about the same time as the New World was discovered). Sixty or seventy years later, nuptial (already borrowed as explained) received its plural -s under influence from nuptiae (“wedding”). nuptiae (“wedding”) is from a feminine participle of nubo (“to take as a husband”), and related to νύμφη (númphē, “bride, nymph”). —Stephen ^(Talk) 06:45, 11 January 2012 (UTC)