I. ˈbedləm noun
( -s )
Etymology: from Bedlam, popular name for the Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem, London, England, an insane asylum, from Middle English Bedlem, Bethlem, alteration of Bethlehem, town of Palestine
1. obsolete
a. : madman , lunatic
b. sometimes capitalized : a discharged often imperfectly cured patient of an asylum who is licensed to beg
2. archaic : a hospital for the insane : a lunatic asylum
3.
a. : a place or scene of wild mad uproar
after the speech the meeting became a bedlam
b. : an extremely confused scene : a situation making for confusion
the bedlam of roads, crescents, drives and avenues that forms the suburbs — Irish Digest
II. adjective
: mad , lunatic : of or appropriate to an insane asylum