fathom
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: faþom
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English fathome, fadome, from Old English fæþm, fæþme (“outstretched or encircling arms, embrace, grasp, protection, interior, bosom, lap, breast, womb, fathom, cubit, power, expanse, surface”), from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“embrace”), from Proto-Indo-European *pet- (“to spread out, extend”). Cognate with Low German fadem, faem (“a cubit, thread”), Dutch vadem, vaam (“fathom”), German Faden (“thread, filament, fathom”), Danish favn (“embrace, fathom”), Swedish famn (“the arms, bosom, embrace”), Icelandic faðmur (“embrace”), Latin pateō, Ancient Greek πετάννυμι (petánnumi).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
fathom (plural fathoms)
- (obsolete) Grasp, envelopment, control.
- (units of measure, now usually nautical) An English unit of length notionally based upon the width of grown man's outstretched arms but standardized as 6 feet (about 1.8 m)
- (units of measure) Various similar units in other systems.
- (figuratively) Depth of insight, mental reach or scope.
- Shakespeare, Othello, Act I, Scene i, ll. 151-2:
- Another of his fathom they have none
To lead their business.
- Another of his fathom they have none
- Shakespeare, Othello, Act I, Scene i, ll. 151-2:
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
unit of length
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Verb[edit]
fathom (third-person singular simple present fathoms, present participle fathoming, simple past and past participle fathomed)
- (transitive, archaic) To encircle with outstretched arms, especially to take a measurement; to embrace.
- (transitive) To measure the depth of, take a sounding of.
- (transitive, figuratively) To get to the bottom of; to manage to comprehend (a problem etc.).
- I can't for the life of me fathom what this means.
Synonyms[edit]
Translations[edit]
(transitive, archaic) to encircle with outstretched arms
(transitive) to measure the depth of, take a sounding of
(transitive, figuratively) to manage to comprehend
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Related terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- fathom in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- fathom in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- fathom at OneLook Dictionary Search
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Nautical
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with archaic senses
- en:Units of measure
