From Old High German brūtlouft, reanalyzed as Braut (“bride”) + Lauf (“run, walk”). This reanalyzation is etymologically correct since Old High German -louft is derived from loufan (modern laufen). The formation is of Proto-Germanic origin: compare Old Saxon brūdloht, Middle Dutch bruloft (whence modern Dutch bruiloft), and slightly differing Old English brȳdhlop, Old Norse brúðhlaup (whence Swedish bröllop, Danish and Norwegian bryllup). The semantics behind this compound are uncertain. Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną probably meant “to leap, jump”, which would point to the wedding celebration (compare Dutch huwelijk). However, the sense “to run” may also be old, in which case a reference to the taking-home or ritualized abduction of the bride becomes very suggestive. The latter idea is preferred in much of the literature.
Brautlauf m (strong, genitive Brautlaufs, plural Brautläufe)
| singular | plural | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| indef. | def. | noun | def. | noun | |
| nominative | ein | der | Brautlauf | die | Brautläufe |
| genitive | eines | des | Brautlaufs | der | Brautläufe |
| dative | einem | dem | Brautlauf | den | Brautläufen |
| accusative | einen | den | Brautlauf | die | Brautläufe |