來自於13世紀倫敦Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem, 一所專門收治精神病人的醫院。bedlam為Bethlehem的變體。
英文詞源
bedlam
bedlam: [15] The word bedlam is a contraction of Bethlehem. It comes from the Hospital of St Mary of Bethlehem founded in 1247 by Simon FitzMary, Sheriff of London, as the Priory of St Mary Bethlehem. Situated outside Bishopsgate, in the City of London, the hospital began to admit mental patients in the late 14th century. In the 16th century it officially became a lunatic asylum. The word bedlam came to be used for any ‘madhouse’, and by extension for a ‘scene of noisy confusion’, in the 17th century.
bedlam (n.)
"scene of mad confusion," 1660s, from colloquial pronunciation of "Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem" in London, founded 1247 as a priory, mentioned as a hospital 1330 and as a lunatic hospital 1402; converted to a state 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.
雙語例句
1. The crowd went absolutely mad. It was bedlam.
人們徹底瘋了。亂成了一團。
來自柯林斯例句
2. It was bedlam at our house on the morning of the wedding.
婚禮的那天早上，我們家鬧哄哄的。
來自《權威詞典》
3. He is causing bedlam at the hotel.
他正攪得旅館雞犬不寧。
來自辭典例句
4. When the teacher was called away the classroom was a regular bedlam.
當老師被叫走的時候,教室便喧鬧不堪.
來自辭典例句
5. What's happening in that room? It's ( like ) bedlam in there.