fathom means 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. It carries an Arena rating of 1639, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, fathom ranks #310 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #331 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,157 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,271 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
fathom is pronounced /ˈfað(ə)m/.
Why “fathom” is a great word
A unit of length equal to six feet, used for measuring water depth, or the act of achieving deep comprehension. From Middle English fathome, from Old English fæþm ("outstretched arms, embrace, fathom"), from Proto-West Germanic *faþm, from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz ("outstretched arms, embrace"), from Proto-Indo-European *pet(h₂)- ("to spread out"). Unlike "understand," which glides over surfaces, or "comprehend," which bounds a subject within reason, to fathom demands an immersion into the obscure. It is the sailor heaving the lead-line into black water, the diver descending through pressure-shifted light, the long moment spent staring into a loved one's motives, seeking bedrock. It measures not merely depth, but the human capacity to reach for bottom in all that is profound.
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
noun
- 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.
- 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.e.g.“After we'd rowed for an hour, we found ourselves stranded ten fathoms from shore.”
- 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.e.g.“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 Untrussing of the Humorous Poet. […], London: […] [Edward Allde] for Edward White, […], published 1602, →OCLC, signature E, verso:
- Control, grasp.
verb
- To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.e.g.“It is very steep, and on its summit is a lake of dark water, so deep that it cannot be fathomed.” — 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 457:
- 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.e.g.“I can’t for the life of me fathom what this means.”
- To embrace (someone or something).
- To measure a depth; to sound.
- To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- fistmele 62% match — A traditional unit of distance equal to the width of a clenched fist with the thumb extended (approx. 6½ inches or 16½ centimetres). vs fathom →
- fathomage 61% match — The amount of money paid to a miner based on fathoms of material worked. vs fathom →
- handsbreadth 58% match — a small distance vs fathom →
- handbreadth 58% match — A space equal to the breadth of the hand; a palm. vs fathom →
- handspan 56% match — The distance between the outstretched tips of the little finger and thumb when used as a unit of measurement. vs fathom →
- arpent 51% match — A premetric French unit of length, having various official measures (from 58 to 72 meters). vs fathom →
- bathometer 50% match — An instrument that measures the depth of water, used especially to measure the depth of ocean water. vs fathom →
- furlong 50% match — A unit of distance equal to one-eighth of a mile (220 yards, or 201.168 metres), now mainly used in measuring distances in farmland and horse racing. vs fathom →