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BEDLAM
Definition of BEDLAM
noun
A place or situation of chaotic uproar, and where confusion prevails.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Bedlam, alternative name of the English lunatic asylum, Bethlem Royal Hospital (royal hospital from 1375, mental hospital from 1403) (earlier St Mary of Bethlehem outside Bishopsgate, hospice in existence from 1329, priory established 1247), since used to mean “a place or situation of madness and chaos”. Bedlam as name of hospital attested 1450. Phonologically, corruption of Bethlem, itself a corruption of Bethlehem (the Biblical town), from Ancient Greek Βηθλεέμ (Bēthleém) from Biblical Hebrew בֵּית לֶחֶם (bêṯ leḥem, literally “house of bread”). However, also compare Spanish belén (“confusion, disorder; a place characteristic of such”).
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Spanish
- Hebrew
- Ancient Greek
- English
3 recorded generations before English.
Deepest traced root
12th
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
1.2%
of traced words share this origin (950)
branch · 12.8% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, BEDLAM · 3 relatives in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
BEDLAM in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 48 boards so far. 150 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 7, 28 May 2026. The most recent board was Day 162, 29 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 2 days.
First found by a player on Day 7, 28 May 2026.
Built from these letters
BEDLAM starts with B and ends with M. Sorted, its letters read ABDELM - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
5 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Words that start BEDLAM
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Also seen on Day 7
Could you have found BEDLAM?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 7 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER