bedlam [bed-luh m]
noun
1.a scene or state of wild uproar and confusion.
2.Archaic. an insane asylum or madhouse.
a popular name for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem in London, whichserved as a lunatic asylum from circa 1400; compare Middle EnglishBedleem, Bethleem, Old English Betleem Bethlehem
British Dictionary definitions for bedlamExpand
bedlam
/ˈbɛdləm/noun1.a noisy confused place or situation; state of uproar: his speech causedbedlam2.(archaic) a lunatic asylum; madhouseWord OriginC13 bedlem, bethlem, after the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem in LondonCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cite This SourceWord Origin and History for bedlamExpandn.
"scene of mad confusion," 1660s, from colloquial pronunciation of "Hospitalof Saint Mary of Bethlehem " in London, founded 1247 as a priory,mentioned as a hospital 1330 and as a lunatic hospital 1402; converted toa state lunatic asylum on dissolution of the monasteries in 1547. It wasspelled Bedlem in a will from 1418, and Betleem is recorded as a spelling ofBethlehem in Judea from 971.
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