A chaotic, noisy, and confusing scene or situation; absolute disorder and mayhem.
From Bethlehem Royal Hospital in London (shortened to 'Bedlam'), a notorious mental asylum founded in 1247. The hospital became infamous for overcrowding and chaos, so its name became synonymous with pandemonium by the 1660s.
One of English's most vivid words literally comes from a specific place's bad reputation—the hospital was so chaotic that visitors would gawk at the 'madhouse,' making its name permanent slang for chaos. Mental hospitals were once tourist attractions for the morbidly curious!
From Bethlem Royal Hospital, historically run by men; the institution itself became synonymous with female psychiatric patients and 'hysteria.' The word encodes dismissal of women's distress as chaos.
Use 'chaos,' 'disorder,' or 'commotion' to avoid this gendered institutional history.
["chaos","commotion","disorder","tumult"]
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