Bethlehem \Beth"le*hem\, n. [Heb. b?th-lekhem house of food; b?th house + lekhem food, l[=a]kham 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)