fathom

A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres). Later used to measure the depth of water, but now generally replaced by the metre outside American usage.

Noun

  1. A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres). Later used to measure the depth of water, but now generally replaced by the metre outside American usage.
    • [T]he ſhipmen deemed that they drew neere to ſome countrey: And ſounded, and found it twentie fathoms: and when they had gone a little further, they ſounded againe, and found it fifteene fathoms. - 1611, The Holy Bible,...
    • Full fadom fiue thy Father lies, Of his bones are Corrall made: Those are pearles that were his eies, Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a Sea-change Into someting rich, & strange - 1610–1611 (date written),...

    Related: fm

    1. An internationally standardized version of this unit, the international fathom (= 1.8288 metres = 6 feet).

      Related: fm mul:fm

  2. A measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.
    • After we'd rowed for an hour, we found ourselves stranded ten fathoms from shore.
    • At fifty fathoms, the waters of the Southern Ocean are dark blue. - 1983, Richard Ellis, “The Predators”, in The Book of Sharks, 1st paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, published 1989, →ISBN, page...
  3. An unspecified depth.
  4. Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
    • Another of his fathome they haue not / To leade their buſineſſe, […] - c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for...
  5. The act of stretching out one's arms away from the sides of the torso so that they make a straight line perpendicular to the body.
  6. Someone or something that is embraced.
    • Thy Bride, thy choice, thy vvife, / She that is novv thy fadom, […] Kneele at thy feete, obay in euerie thing, / So euerie Father is a priuate King. - 1601 (first performance), Thomas Dekker, Satiro-mastix. Or The...
  7. Control, grasp.
    • So; novv knovv I vvhere I am, me thinkes already / I graſpe beſt part of the Autumnian bleſſing / In my contentious fadome, […] - 1604 (first performance), [Thomas Middleton], “Inductio”, in Michaelmas Terme. […],...
    • Yes: / you have blovvne his ſvvolne pride to that vaſtnes, / as he beleeves the earth is in his fadom, / this makes him qute forget his humble Being: […] - 1622 May 24 (licensing date; Gregorian calendar), John...

Origin

From Middle English fathome, fadom, fadme (“unit of length of about six feet; depth of six feet for nautical soundings; (loosely) cubit; ell”) [and other forms], from Old English fæþm, fæþme (“encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace; envelopment; control, grasp, power; fathom (unit of measurement); cubit”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Indo-European *pet-, *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”). Cognates * Ancient Greek πέταλος (pétalos, “broad; flat”), πετᾰ́ννῡμῐ (petắnnūmĭ, “to open; to spread out; to be dispersed or scattered”) (whence English petal) * Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌸𐌰 (faþa, “fench; hedge”) * Latin pateō (“to extend, increase; to be accessible, attainable, open; to be exposed, vulnerable”) * Low German...

Forms

fathoms

Synonyms

stade toise brace braza estadio orguia

Related

deep six

Derived

fathomage fathometer fathomly

Verb

  1. To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.
  2. To encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.
  3. Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.
    • I can’t for the life of me fathom what this means.
    • Otamendi’s selection ahead of Vincent Kompany was difficult to fathom and, apart from Fernandinho, City’s line-up was otherwise filled with attacking players. - 2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after...

    Synonyms: figure out puzzle out work out

    Coordinate Terms: grok

  4. To embrace (someone or something).
  5. To measure a depth; to sound.
  6. To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.

Forms

fathoms fathoming fathomed

Derived

fathomability fathomable fathomer fathoming fathomless fathomlessly unfathom unfathomability unfathomable

Wikipedia

fathom