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]

Sense 1 (“unit for water depth”) is derived from sense 3.1 (“act of stretching out one’s arms away from the sides of the torso”).

cognates

Noun

fathom (plural fathoms)

  1. (chiefly nautical, historical) Originally, the distance between an adult man's arms stretched out away from the sides of his torso so that they make a straight line perpendicular to his body, measured from the tips of the longest fingers of each hand, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres); subsequently used as a unit for water depth but now generally replaced by the metre.
  2. (figuratively)
    1. (chiefly in the plural) An unspecified depth.
    2. (archaic or obsolete) Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
  3. (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 1,000 fathoms offshore is not 6,000 feet from the shore, but rather at the nearest point to shore where the water depth is 6,000 feet.

Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations
distance between an adult man’s arms stretched out away from the sides of his torso; unit of length for water depth equivalent to six feet (about 1.8 m) — See also translations at brace,‎ toise
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 measure the depth of (water) — See also translations at sound
to measure a depth — See also translations at sound
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 671561968, page 75.
  2. “fadme, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  3. “fathom, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, 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 ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022; “fathom, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading
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