bridegroom's men
Preserved but no longer current.
In the Roman marriage by confarreatio, the bride was led to the Pontifex Maximus by bachelors, but was conducted home by married men. Polydore Virgil says that a married man preceded the bride on her return, bearing a vessel of gold and silver. See BRIDE CAKE.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “bridegroom's men” mean?
In the Roman marriage by confarreatio, the bride was led to the Pontifex Maximus by bachelors, but was conducted home by married men. Polydore Virgil says that a married man preceded the bride on her return, bearing a vessel of gold and silver. See BRIDE CAKE.
Is “bridegroom's men” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.