epithalamium

/ˈɛpəˌθælmiəm/

Other forms: epithalamia; epithalamiums

An epithalamium is a special poem written in honor of a marriage. Many epithalamiums are addressed to brides on their wedding days.

The poetic form called an epithalamium started in ancient Greece as a song that was sung to the bride and groom on their wedding night by a group of children. Greek and Roman poets, including the poet Sappho, developed the epithalamium, in some cases celebrating specific marriages, and the 16th century English poet Edmund Spenser wrote Epithalamium for his own bride. The word means "bridal song," epithalamion in Greek, from epi, "upon," and thalamos, "bridal chamber."

Definitions of epithalamium

1. noun

   an ode in honor of a wedding
   types:

   prothalamion, prothalamium

   a song in celebration of a marriage

   type of:

   ode

   a lyric poem with complex stanza forms