six fathom deep but several fathoms deep … Modern English usage Fathom — Fath om, v. t. [imp. The original sense was ‘something which embraces’, (plural) ‘the outstretched arms’; hence, a unit of measurement based on the span of the outstr What does fathom mean? The measurement lingers but has mostly been supplanted by feet or meters, if I’m not mistaken. This may have been partly to compensate for the differing productivity or value of the land: Land records were often more about taxation, rather than for recording actual dimensions. Weird things about the name Fathom: The name spelled backwards is Mohtaf. How unique is the name Fathom? In this system, the smallest unit is the grain, and a scruple is equivalent to 20 grains. Fathom definition, a unit of length equal to six feet (1.8 meters): used chiefly in nautical measurements. The units depicted are displayed with their historical ratios. Measurement, loosely defined is the length, amount, or size of something that is measured. The original sense was ‘something which embraces’, (plural) ‘the outstretched arms’; hence, a unit of measurement based on the span of the outstr A fathom is a measurement of 6 feet or 1.8 meters, used when referring to the depth of water. Old English fæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. A fathom is six feet, or 1.8288 meters. Also used as a verb: To measure the depth of; to get to the bottom of, to understand. Learn more. Pork, powder, and biscuit was the cargo, with only a musket and a cutlass apiece for the squire and me and Redruth and the captain. Shackle of cable (UK RN, old): 12½ fathoms. The original sense was ‘something which embraces’, (plural) ‘the outstretched arms’; hence, a unit of measurement based on the span of the outstretched arms, later standardized to six feet. It is אטה in Hebrew (pronounced am-mah′), which can be interpreted “the mother of the arm” or the origin, that is, the forearm/cubit.Selected biblical references [] for the cubit include these five rather well-known selections. The first English official measurement standards were defined in 15th century. Fathom took form from the Old English fæðm. History Origin. It is possible the name you are searching has less than five occurrences per year. Shot or shackle of cable: 15 fathoms. To fathom something is to understand it thoroughly, and is usually used in the negative, as in "I can't fathom why he doesn't want to go along with us." A fathom line or fathom curve, a usually sinuous line on a nautical chart, joins all points having the same depth of water, thereby indicating the contour of the ocean floor. Both the Romans and the Welsh used multiples of a shorter foot, but 2 1 ⁄ 2 Roman feet was a "step" (gradus) and 3 Welsh feet was a "pace" (cam).The Proto-Germanic cubit or arm's-length has been reconstructed as *alinâ, which developed into the Old English ęln, Middle English elne, and modern ell of 1¼ yd. From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Related topics: Measurement fathom fath‧om 1 / ˈfæð ə m / noun [countable] TM a unit for measuring the depth of water, equal to six feet or about 1.8 metres Examples from the Corpus fathom • In Taylor's Level the ground was equally as hard and the rate had been increased there to £9 a fathom. fathom meaning: 1. a unit for measuring the depth of water, equal to 1.8 metres or 6 feet 2. to discover the…. The original sense was ‘something which embraces’, (plural) ‘the outstretched arms’; hence, a unit of measurement based on the span of the outstretched arms, later standardized to six feet. Man's arm span, finger tip to finger tip. In Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Livesey helps gather supplies as they flee from the mutineers:. Abbreviation: fath See more. The arm span of an average sailor was 6 feet and called a fathom. Origin of Fathom Old English fæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. Comes from Middle English fathme which itself comes from Old English faedm [the a and e are one letter and the d has that cross over it] meaning “outstretched arms.” Kind of reminds you of how a yard is about the distance from the nose to the tip of the arm, huh? news.com.au, 28 August 2019 "It's hard to fathom why France is still seeking a Renault merger, even after the idea helped bring down Carlos Ghosn. A league is an old unit of length.It was the distance a person could walk in about one hour.The Romans adopted the league and it became a common unit of measurement throughout western Europe and Latin America.. Before this period, countries such as France had measuring systems for nearly every profession. Fathom: 6 feet. Fun Facts about the name Fathom. A scruple is a small amount of something, and is used in the system of apothecaries’ weight used by pharmacists. We assume you are converting between chinese foot and fathom. As with other units of measurement, the size of a cord of wood is typically regulated, either by a state or national government. The figure of the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci depicts nine historical units of measurement: the yard, the span, the cubit, the Flemish ell, the English ell, the French ell, the fathom, the hand, and the foot. In English-speaking countries the league was usually three statute miles (4.828032 kilometres) on land or three nautical miles (5.556 km) at sea. Quick definitions from WordNet (fathom) noun: (mining) a unit of volume (equal to 6 cubic feet) used in measuring bodies of ore noun: a linear unit of measurement (equal to 6 feet) for water depth verb: measure the depth of (a body of water) with a sounding line verb: come to understand Automatically generated examples: "It’s hard to fathom how a city of 10 million people can pick up and move to an entirely new island. League, any of several European units of measurement ranging from 2.4 to 4.6 statute miles (3.9 to 7.4 km). Practical examples. British system of units, known as imperial units, was established in 1824. Old English fæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. This development of the word strikes me as rather intuitive: Just as a fathom plumbs the depths of water, so we get to the bottom of a situation when we fathom it. Long ago, the idea of a universal measuring system didn’t exist. Many ancient measures, particularly lengths and areas of land, varied in different places. A fathom is a unit of length used to measure the depth of water or the length of nautical rope or cable. Origin of Nautical Terms. Nautical miles is a measurement over water. The original sense was ‘something which embraces’, (plural) ‘the outstretched arms’; hence, a unit of measurement based on the span of the outstretched arms, later standardized to six feet. Word Origin Old English fæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. The cubit was a basic unit in early Israel and the surrounding Near East countries. A measure of depth, fathom is derived from either or both the Old English word faeom or the Old Saxon word fathmos, both meaning the length of the outstretched arms. fathom definition: 1. a unit for measuring the depth of water, equal to 1.8 metres or 6 feet 2. to discover the…. But why 6 feet? fathom — a unit of measurement of depth, is unchanged in the plural when preceded by a number, i.e. (Used until 1949). As weights increase, a dram is 3 scruples, an ounce is 8 drams, and a pound is 12 ounces.. Scruple comes from the Latin word meaning “small sharp stone”; today's scruples weigh 1.296 grams. Fathom definition: A fathom is a measurement of 1.8 metres or 6 feet, used when referring to the depth of... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples The answer is 5.4864. Fathom word origin: The word Fathom has been derived from Old English fæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. Fathom. The area offshore beyond the 100 fathom line, too deep to be fathomed by a hand sounding … Learn more. You can view more details on each measurement unit: chinese feet or fathom The SI base unit for length is the metre. 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