Bethesda

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bə.θɛz.də/

Etymology

From Aramaic, (בית-חסדא, literally "House of Grace").

Proper noun

Bethesda

1. (biblical) A pool in Jerusalem mentioned in the New Testament.

Noun

Bethesda (plural Bethesdas)

1. (poetic) Any location whose waters are supposed to have curative properties.
   • 1903, Thomas De Witt Talmage, Richard S Rhodes, Evils of the cities

     ...those who are afflicted with rheumatic, neuralgic, and splenetic diseases, go, and are cured by the thousands. These Bethesdas are scattered all up and down our country, blessed be God!

   • 1978, Garry Wills, Values Americans live by

     Time was when this Bethesda too was curative, a sweet oasis in a parched and driven city. The day we went we found the fountain had been shut off.