Brautlauf

From Old High German brūtlouft, reanalyzed as Braut (“bride”) +‎ Lauf (“run, walk”). This reanalyzation is etymologically quite correct since Old High German -louft is indeed derived from the verb at hand in modern German laufen (and not (ge)loben (“to vow”) as might be thought). The formation is of Proto-Germanic origin: compare Old Saxon brūdloht, Middle Dutch bruloft (whence modern Dutch bruiloft), and just 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 similar 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.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʁaʊ̯tˌlaʊ̯f/

Brautlauf m (genitive Brautlaufs, plural Brautläufe)

1. (obsolete) wedding

• Hochzeit