fathomless means very deep (especially of water deeper than a lead line can measure); bottomless, immeasurable. It carries an Arena rating of 2099, earned across 15 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, fathomless ranks #40 of 42,762 for Qualifying, #67 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #714 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #762 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words.
fathomless is pronounced /ˈfæ.ðəm.ləs/.
Why “fathomless” is a great word
Impossible to measure the depth of; so deep or profound as to be incomprehensible. From fathom (from Old English fæthm, "outstretched arms, embrace, length of the outstretched arms, a measure of six feet") + -less (suffix meaning "without"). First recorded in English 1600–10. Unlike "abyssal," which charts the measurable deeps of the ocean floor, or "inscrutable," which describes an impenetrable mask, "fathomless" is the negation of the human scale itself, the line running out before the bottom is found. It is the oceanic trench where light gives up, the grief that has no floor, and the silence between stars that mocks our six-foot increments. It speaks to the profound loneliness of a universe where the tools of our understanding cannot reach, the human ache to hold what slips through the arms like water.
Etymology
From fathom + -less.
adj
- Very deep (especially of water deeper than a lead line can measure); bottomless, immeasurable.
- unfathomable or incomprehensible.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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