Bedlam

\bɛd.lam\

/\bɛd.lam\/ name

The verdict

“Bedlam” is uncommon French (frequency #97,698 among 4,251 “B” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#97,698
frequency rank, French
4,251
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nom d’un fameux hôpital de Londres, où l’on enfermait les aliénés.

Corpus desk

Index FR-bedlam · Bedlam · French

Bedlam · rank #97,698 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #97,698
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,251
  • PHOTO-FINISH becquée

Nearest frequency peer: becquée (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rangs de longue queue près de « Bedlam »

Bande clairsemée: les barres inversent le rang pour que le rare se lise plus court

corpus weight

What this shows Vue de longue queue: où « Bedlam » se situe face à des rangs français aussi rares.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Bedlam
PropertyValue
HeadwordBedlam
LanguageFrench
Part of speechProper noun
IPA\bɛd.lam\
Letters6
Frequency rank#97,698
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « Bedlam » en français

De gauche à droite: le peu qui porte la parole quotidienne, puis la longue queue quasi invisible.Bedlamtombe dans cette queue de rareté:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Voisins rares de la même bande: « becquée » (#97,697), « Beaupréau » (#97,696), « beloved » (#97,700). Parmi 4,251 lemmes en « B », « Bedlam » est au #97,698. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Bedlam is uncommon French at frequency #97,698 among 4,251 “B” headwords, classed as aproper noun, transcribed \bɛd.lam\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Nom d’un fameux hôpital de Londres, où l’on enfermait les aliénés.".

Zero misspellings are on record for Bedlam in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is Bedlam, spelled B-E-D-L-A-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nom d’un fameux hôpital de Londres, où l’on enfermait les aliénés.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how Bedlam appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Mais ni le feu ni l’eau dans leurs lubricités Et les débordements de leur rage soudaine, D’un frisson aussi vif ne glacent l’âme humaine Et ne serrent le cœur, autant que le tableau Qu’offrent les malheureux qui souffrent du cerveau, L’aspect tumultueux des pauvres créatures Qui vivent, ô Bedlam ! Sous tes voûtes obscures !
  2. Une Anglaise de grand talent me parlait d’un séjour qu’elle a fait en 1922 à Bedlam, un des plus vieux hôpitaux de fous qui soient au monde, « good old Bedlam » comme elle l’appelle avec bonne humeur malgré les souvenirs qu’elle en garde.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Bedlam"?
"Bedlam" is spelled B-E-D-L-A-M. The IPA pronunciation is \bɛd.lam\.
What does "Bedlam" mean?
As a proper noun, "Bedlam" means: Nom d’un fameux hôpital de Londres, où l’on enfermait les aliénés.
How do you pronounce "Bedlam"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Bedlam" is \bɛd.lam\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Bedlam" come from?
"Bedlam" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "Bedlam", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list