bedlam n.

"scene of mad confusion," 1660s, from colloquial pronunciation of Bethlehem, short for "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, which was founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital by 1330 and as a lunatic hospital by 1402. It was converted to a civic lunatic asylum on dissolution of the monasteries in 1547.

It was spelled Bedlem in a will from 1418, and Betleem is recorded as a spelling of Bethlehem in Judea from 971. The proper name might be caught in transition in the title of John Davies' 1617 publication of humorous poetry, "Wits bedlam —where is had, whipping-cheer, to cure the mad."

词汇	bedlam
词源	bedlam n. "scene of mad confusion," 1660s, from colloquial pronunciation of Bethlehem, short for "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, which was founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital by 1330 and as a lunatic hospital by 1402. It was converted to a civic lunatic asylum on dissolution of the monasteries in 1547. It was spelled Bedlem in a will from 1418, and Betleem is recorded as a spelling of Bethlehem in Judea from 971. The proper name might be caught in transition in the title of John Davies' 1617 publication of humorous poetry, "Wits bedlam —where is had, whipping-cheer, to cure the mad." Entries linking to bedlam Bethlehem city south of Jerusalem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus; according to Room, "modern scholarship" indicates the name probably means "House of Lahmu and Lahamu," a pair of Mesopotamian agricultural deities. Bedlamite n. "insane person," 1620s, from bedlam (q.v.) + -ite (1). updated on October 06, 2022
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bedlam n.

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