Beth"le*hem (?), n. [Heb. bth-lekhem house of food; bth house + lekhem food, lakham to eat. Formerly the name of a hospital for the insane, in London, which had been the priory of St. Mary of Bethlehem. Cf. Bedlam.]
1.
A hospital for lunatics; -- corrupted into bedlam.
2. Arch.
In the Ethiopic church, a small building attached to a church edifice, in which the bread for the eucharist is made.
Audsley.
© Webster 1913.