fathom
Meanings
- 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.
- An internationally standardized version of this unit, the international fathom (= 1.8288 metres = 6 feet).
- A measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.
- An unspecified depth.
- Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
- 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.
- Someone or something that is embraced.
- Control, grasp.
- To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.
- To encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.
- Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.
- To embrace (someone or something).
- To measure a depth; to sound.
- To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
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 fadem, faem (“cubit; thread”) * Middle Dutch vadem (modern Dutch vaam, vadem (“fathom”)) * Norwegian Bokmål favn (“an embrace; a fathom”) * Old Frisian fethm (“outstretched arms”) * Old High German fadam, fadum (“cubit”) (Middle High German vade (“enclosure”), vadem, vaden, modern German Faden (“fathom; filament, thread”)) * Old Norse faþmr (Danish favn (“an embrace; a fathom”), Icelandic faðmur (“an embrace”), Swedish famn (“the arms, bosom; an embrace”)) * Old Welsh etem (“thread”)