Bedlam

Bedlam in a name given to a scene of uproar and confusion. However, originally it was a lunatic asylum, St Mary of Bethlehem, in London, so named from the priory "Bethlehem" in Bishopsgate, first appropriated to the purpose, Bedlam being a corruption of the name Bethlehem. Later the term bedlam used to refer to any institution for the care of mentally ill people, but now such a use is considered archaic.