▪ I. fathom, n.
(ˈfæðəm)
Forms: 1 fæðm, fædm, 2–4 fedme, 4 feþme, fademe, 3 fadim, (fadum, fathum, south. veðme), 4–5 fadme, 4–6 fadom(e, 5–6 fadam(e, fathem, (Sc. fadowme, fawdom(e, 5 fadmen, fadym, south. vathym, veth(e)ym, 6 faddam, feddom, Sc. faldom, faudom, south. vadome), 6 fatham(e, 6–7 fathome, 7 faddom(e, 7– fathom.
[OE. fæðm str. masc. (also fem.) corresponds to OFris. fethm sing., OS. fathmôs pl., the two arms outstretched (Du. vadem, vaam, measure of 6 feet), OHG. fadum cubit (mod.G. faden measure of 6 feet), ON. faþmr (Icel. faðmr, Da. favn, Sw. famn) the outstretched arms, embrace, bosom, also measure of 6 feet:—OTeut. *faþmo-z, cognate with Goth. faþa, MHG. vade enclosure, f. Teut. root feþ-, faþ-:—pre-Teut. pet-, pot-, whence also Gr. πέταλος spreading, broad, πεταννύναι to spread out.
Formally identical with this word are the MDu. vadem, OHG. fadum, fadam (MHG. vadem, vaden, mod.G. faden), thread; cf. OWelsh etem in same sense. Possibly the two widely divergent senses of the type *faþmo- may be explained as different applications of the etymological sense ‘stretching out’.]
† 1. In pl. The embracing arms; in sing. = bosom 1 b. OE. only.
| a 1000 Riddles xxvii. 25 (Gr.) Freonda þy ma þa..hi lufan fæðmum fæste clyppað. a 1000 Andreas 825 (Gr.) Ða..het lifes brytta..englas sine, fæðmum feriᵹean..leofne. |
† b. fig. Grasp, power.
Obs.| Beowulf 1210 Ȝehwearf þa in Francna fæðm feorh cyninges. a 1000 Crist 1486 (Gr.) Þe ic alysde me feondum of fæðme. 1607 Middleton Michaelm. Term Induct., I grasp best part of the autumnian blessing In my contentious fathom. 1622 Fletcher Prophetess ii. i, He beleeves the earth is in his fadom. |
† c. The object of embrace, the ‘wife of thy bosom’.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1602 Dekker Satiromastix Wks. 1873 I. 209 Thy Bride..She that is now thy fadom. |
2. † a. A stretching of the arms in a straight line to their full extent. Also in
to make a fathom.
| 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 29 The length..fro the both toppys of his myddell fyngers, whan he maketh a vadome. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 717 The first of these hornes..being of the length of my fadome. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iv. v. 191 The extent of his fathome..is equall unto the space between the soale of the foot and the crowne. 1785 Burns Halloween xxiii. note, Take an opportunity of going..to a bean-stack, and fathom it three times round. The last fathom of the last time you will catch in your arms the appearance of your future conjugal yoke-fellow. |
b. fig. Breadth of comprehension, grasp of intellect; ability.
Obs. exc. arch.| 1604 Shakes. Oth. i. i. 153 Another of his Fadome, they haue none. 1827 T. Hamilton Cyril Thornton (1845) 89 This..is beyond my fathom to determine. |
3. A measure of length.
† a. The length of the forearm; a
cubit.
Obs.| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 158/10 Cubitum, Fædm betwux elboᵹan and handwyrste. c 1000 ― Gen. vi. 15 Þreo hund faþma biþ se arc on lenᵹe. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 An arc þreo hund fedme lang. c 1205 Lay. 27686 Þat sper þurh ræhte fulle ane ueðme. a 1300 Cursor M. 21532 (Gött.) He right depe had doluen dare, Ma þan tuenti fadim or mare. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 145 Fadme, or fadyme, ulna. |
b. The length covered by the outstretched arms, including the hands to the tip of the longest finger; hence, a definite measure of 6 feet (formerly for some purposes less: see
quot. 1751), now chiefly used in taking soundings (but see
quot. 1968).
| a 800 Corpus Gloss., Passus, faeðm, uel tueᵹen stridi. c 1300 K. Alis. 546 His taile was fyve fedme long. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1393 These trees were sette..One from another in assise Five fadme or sixe. c 1450 Merlin 31 This tour is iij or iiij fadom of height. a 1490 Botoner Itin. (Nasmith 1778) 175 Arches of x vethym yn hyth. 1496 Ld. Treas. Acct. Scot. (1877) I. 291, vj fawdome of smal pailȝoune tow, ilk fawdome ij d. 1526 Tindale Acts xxvii. 28 The ship⁓men..sounded and founde it .xx. feddoms. 1580 Baret Alv. F 199 As big as four men could compasse with their armes, or foure fathom broade. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 396 Full fadom fiue thy Father lies. 1643 Winthrop Jrnl. (1790) 325 They..presented the court with twenty-six fathom more of wampom. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 163/2 The deepness of Water is sounded by Faddoms. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. ii. 219 We could not find ground with sixty fathom of line. 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v., There are three kinds of fathoms..The first, which is that of men of war, contains six feet; the middling, or that of merchant ships, five feet and a half; and the small fathom, used in fluyets, fly-boats, and other fishing-vessels, only five feet. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xx, ‘Where lies your bark?’ ‘Ten fathom deep in ocean dark!’ 1865 Livingstone Zambesi ix. 197 We..handed him two fathoms of cotton cloth. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 176 The Gulf Stream itself is not more than 100 fathoms deep. 1968 Guardian 26 Apr. 1/1 The fathom..is to disappear from British Admiralty charts. In future sea depths will be marked in metres. |
† c. (See
quots.;
perh. some error.)
Obs.| 1692–1708 Coles, Fathom, three Feet in length. 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v., Fathom is..used in several countries, particularly Italy, for the common yard or ell. |
d. in
pl. Depths.
lit. and
fig. Also in
fig. expressions
fathoms deep,
fathoms down;
cf. 6.
| 1608 Middleton Trick to Catch Old One iii. i, Swallow up his father..Within the fathoms of his conscience. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iv. 502 All..the profound seas, hides In vnknowne fadomes. 1880 M. E. Braddon Just as I am xviii, You will sink fathoms deep in my respect. |
4. Mining (see
quot. 1881).
| 1778 W. Pryce Min. Cornub. Gloss. 320/1 Work in the Cornish Mines, is generally performed by the fathom. 1872 Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 315 [Cost of] stoping $12 or $18 per fathom [of ore]. 1881 ― Mining Gloss., A fathom of mining ground is six feet square by the whole thickness of the vein. |
5. A certain quantity of wood; now, a quantity 6 ft. square in section, whatever the length may be.
| 1577 Harrison England ii. xxii. (1877) i. 340 Our tanners buie the barke..by the fadame. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 317 A Fathom of Wood is a parcel of Wood set out, six whereof make a Coal Fire. 1681 Blount Glossogr., When a Ship is past service they saw the wood of it in length, and sell it by the fathom, which is six foot, two broad, and six high. 1835 Tariff Tables in M{supc}Culloch Dict. Commerce 1133 Lathwood in pieces under 5 feet in length, per fathom, 6 feet wide and 6 feet high [duty] {pstlg}4 5s. 0d.; 12 feet long or upwards, per fathom, 6 feet wide and 6 feet high, {pstlg}13 12s. 0d. 1875 T. Laslett Timber & Timber Trees 252, 18000 fathoms of firewood were imported into London in 1874. |
6. attrib. and
Comb., as
fathom lot;
fathom-deep a. = fathoms deep (see 3 d), excessively deep;
fathom-fish western N. Amer. = oolakan;
fathom health, a health (drunk) fathoms deep;
fathom line, the line used in testing the depth of the sea in fathoms; also
fig.;
fathom-proof (
nonce-wd.), unfathomable;
fathom-tale (
Mining), a fixed sum for every fathom excavated;
fathom-wood [
cf. Sw. famnved,
Ger. fadenholz] (see
quot. 1867).
| 1835 Edin. Rev. Apr. 75 *Fathom-deep in murders and debaucheries. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. x. 18 If..the roaring wells Should gulf him fathom-deep in brine. |
| 1849 A. Ross Adv. Oregon River (1904) vi. 109 To prepare them [sc. the ulichans] for a distant market, they are laid side by side, head and tail alternately, and then a thread run through both extremities links them together, in which state they are dried, smoked, and sold by the fathom, hence they have obtained the name of *fathom-fish. 1897 E. Coues New Light Greater Northwest ii. 787 Another name of these ‘smelts’ was fathom-fish, given because they were strung on strings and sold by the fathom. |
| 1600 Dekker Gentle Craft Wks. 1873 I. 71 Carowse mee *fadome healths to the honour of the shoomakers. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. iii. 204 The deepe, Where *Fadome-line could neuer touch the ground. 1816 Byron Prisoner of Chillon vi, The fathom-line was sent From Chillon's snow-white battlement. 1821 Shelley Epipsych. 90 The brief fathom-line of thought or sense. |
| 1792 Elizabeth Percy I. 91 As if he thought what passed, a smooth surface, but not *fathom⁓proof. |
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., *Fathom-tale..probably arises from the payment for such work by the space excavated, and not by the ore produced. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Fathom-wood, slab and other offal of timber, sold at the yards, by fathom lots. |
▪ II. fathom, v. (
ˈfæðəm)
Forms: 1
fæðmian, 3
fadme, 4
faþme, 6–7
fadom(e,
fathame, 7
fathome, 7–
fathom.
[OE. fæðmian = OHG. fademôn, ON. faþma (Icel. faðma, Da. favne, Sw. famna):—OTeut. *faþmôjan, f. *faþmo- fathom n.] 1. trans. To encircle with extended arms.
| c 1300 Havelok 1295 And mine armes weren so longe, That I fadmede, al at ones, Denemark, with mine longe bones. 1637 J. Pocklington Altare Chr. 91 It contained too many Cubits for him to..fathome it round about. 1646 J. Hall Horæ Vac. 71 No man ought to graspe more then he can well fathome. 1775 in Ash. 1810 J. Hodgson Let. in Raine Mem. (1857) I. 65 Ten trunks each more than I can fathom. 1828 Scott Jrnl. II. 187 Trees..so thick that a man could not fathom them. |
transf. and
fig.| Beowulf 3133 Hie..leton..flod fæð mian frætwa hyrde. a 1000 Andreas 1574 (Gr.) Wæter fæðmedon. 1626 Massinger Rom. Actor v. i. Caesar..in his arms Fathoming the earth. 1644 Digby Nat. Bodies Ded. (1658) 15 Flashy wits..cannot fadom the whole extent of a large discourse. |
† b. To clasp or embrace (a person).
to fathom together: to embrace mutually.
Obs.| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 399 Frendez fellen in fere faþmed to-geder. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 145 Fadmyn (fadomyn, P.), ulno. 1629 T. Adams Fatall Banket, Shot Wks. 1861 I. 242 Lascivious Delilahs..fadomed him in the arms of lust. |
2. Of two or more persons: To encircle by extending the arms in line, with the view of measuring the girth.
Obs. exc. arch.| 1555 Eden Decades 68 Seuen men..with theyr armes streached furthe were scarsely able too fathame them [trees] aboute. 1652–62 Heylyn Cosmogr. iii. (1682) 148 Stocks of Vines..as big in bulk as two men can fathom. 1724 R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 135 Mr. Musgrave and I could but just fathom it. 1874 G. W. Dasent Tales fr. Fjeld 261 We will fathom it [a tree] and then we shall soon see. |
b. Of one person: To measure in fathoms by means of the two outstretched arms.
rare.
| 1680 Play-bill in Rendle & Norman Inns Old Southwk., He [the Gyant] now reaches ten foot and a half, fathoms near eight feet, spans fifteen inches. 1785 Burns [see fathom n. 2 a]. |
† 3. intr. to fathom about: to try what the arms will take in; to grope
about.
Obs. rare.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 273 Þer he festnes þe fete & fathmez aboute, & stod vp in his stomak. |
4. trans. To measure with a fathom-line; to ascertain the depth of (water); to sound.
| 1634 Brereton Trav. (1844) 5 Fathoming the depth of the water over against Brill, we found [etc.]. 1665 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 253 In other places..[the Ocean] never hitherto has been fathomed. 1721–1800 in Bailey. 1860 Maury Phys. Geog. Sea xiii. §563 Attempts to fathom the ocean, both by sound and pressure. |
| fig. 1613 Hieron Spirit. Sonne-ship ii. Serm. 372 This loue, to bee Sonnes, who can fadome it? 1642 R. Carpenter Experience v. xvii. 314 O God, who can fadome thy eternity? 1681 Dryden Abs. & Achit. 742 To sound the depths and fathom..The Peoples hearts. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. vi. §17 An abyss of wisdom which our line cannot fathom. 1875 Hamerton Intell. Life viii. i. 281 A..French nobleman whose ignorance I have frequent opportunities of fathoming. |
b. To get to the bottom of, dive into, penetrate, see through, thoroughly understand.
| 1625 Massinger New Way v. i, The..statesman..believes he fathoms The counsels of all Kingdoms on the earth. 1686 J. Smith Baroscope 91 Causes..very difficult for Human Wit to Fathom. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. ix. 400 There was some treachery designed him, which he could not yet fathom. 1781 F. Burney Diary May, [His] character I am at this moment unable to fathom. 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 443 He could conceal his own designs and fathom those of others. 1853 C. Brontë Villette xxxvii. (1876) 416, I saw something in that lad's eye I never quite fathomed. |
5. intr. To take soundings.
lit. and
fig. Also,
† to fathom into: to enquire into.
| 1607 Tourneur Rev. Trag. i. iii, And deeply fadom'd into all estates. 1751 R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1884) I. 84 When fathoming, I could find no bottom. 1855 Milman Lat. Chr. (1864) III. vi. ii. 389 The philosopher..went fathoming on..in the very abysses of human thought. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 72, I can fathom by no plummet-line sunk in life's apparent laws. |