1. an old woman, especially one who is considered ugly or unpleasant
Usage: archaic; often derogatory
2. grandmother
Usage: archaic; obsolete

Examples

• The village children were frightened by tales of the old beldam who lived in the woods.
• In Shakespeare’s time, ‘beldam’ could simply mean grandmother.
• The witch in the fairy tale was portrayed as a cackling beldam.
• Medieval literature often featured a beldam as a wise but fearsome character.
• The term beldam has largely fallen out of modern usage.