fathom

See also: faþom

English
WOTD – 25 June 2022

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈfað(ə)m/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈfæðəm/
  • (dialectal, obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈfædəm/[1]
  • Audio (GA)(file)
  • Hyphenation: fa‧thom

Etymology 1

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],[2] 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”).[3]

cognates

Noun

fathom (plural fathoms)

  1. (chiefly nautical, historical, US) 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.
  2. (nautical, US) 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.
    • 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 7:
      At fifty fathoms, the waters of the Southern Ocean are dark blue.
  3. (figuratively)
    1. (chiefly in the plural) An unspecified depth.
    2. (archaic or obsolete) Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
  4. (obsolete)
    1. 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.
    2. Someone or something that is embraced.
    3. (figuratively) Control, grasp.
Usage notes

At sea, the fathom is exclusively a measure of water depth. Therefore, a boat 100 fathoms offshore is not 600 feet from the shore, but rather at the nearest point to shore where the water depth is 600 feet.

Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

From Middle English fathmen, fadmen (“to encircle (something) with the arms, embrace; to feel, grope; to measure by the ell (or perhaps the fathom)”) [and other forms],[4] from Old English fæðmian, from Proto-Germanic *faþmōjan, from *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”):[5] see further at etymology 1.

cognates

Verb

fathom (third-person singular simple present fathoms, present participle fathoming, simple past and past participle fathomed)

  1. (transitive)
    1. (also figuratively) To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.
    2. (archaic or obsolete) To encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.
    3. (figuratively) Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.
      Synonyms: figure out, puzzle out, work out
      Coordinate term: grok
      I can’t for the life of me fathom what this means.
      • 2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London)‎:
        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.
    4. (obsolete) To embrace (someone or something).
  2. (intransitive)
    1. To measure a depth; to sound.
    2. (figuratively) To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.
Derived terms
Translations
to conduct an examination or inquiry — see investigate

References
  1. Bingham, Caleb (1808) “Improprieties in Pronunciation, common among the people of New-England”, in The Child's Companion; Being a Conciſe Spelling-book […] ‎, 12th edition, Boston: Manning & Loring, →OCLC, page 75.
  2. “fadme, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. “fathom, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “fathom, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. “fadmen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  5. “fathom, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “fathom, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading
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