"of or pertaining to a wife," 1778, from Latin uxoris (see uxorious) + -al (1). Sometimes is used in the sense of uxorius.

We still say that a husband hangs out the broom when his wife goes from home for a short time; and on such occasions a broom besom has been exhibited as a signal that the house was freed from uxorial restraint, and where the master might be considered as a temporary bachelor. [Samuel Johnson and George Steevens, notes to "The Tempest," 1778]