bedlam

Etymology

From Middle English Bedlem, a form of Bethlehem,^[1][2] applied to the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem in London.^[3][1] Founded as a priory in 1247, it is mentioned as a hospital in 1330 and as a hospital for lunatics in 1402;^[1][4] in 1547 it was incorporated as a royal foundation for the reception of lunatics.^[1]

The common noun “madhouse” appears in the early 16th century,^[1][2] and the sense “scene of mad confusion” from the 1660s.^[4] Bethlehem itself is from Ancient Greek Βηθλεέμ, from Biblical Hebrew בֵּית לֶחֶם (bêṯ leḥem, “house of bread”).^[5]

References

1. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. [1] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Boston: Houghton Mifflin
4. [1] [2] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org