fathom
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈfæðəm/
- Archaic
:
braza cúbica
Examples
-
Full fathom five thy father lies; of his bones are coral made.
Fiction book (1993) -
To know the warm fantasy of a home long abandoned and the cold acceptance of a five-fathom grave.
Fiction book (2002) -
Thirty fathoms.
-
Thirty fathoms.
-
But this rough magic I here abjure; and, when I have requir'd Some heavenly music - which even now I do To work mine end upon their senses that This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my books.
-
In the old mining town, the miners measured the ore deposits in fathoms to ensure they extracted enough material.
-
The geologist calculated that the deposit extended at least 40 fathoms underground.
-
After surveying the site, they reported that the ore body was located at a depth of 25 fathoms.
Idioms
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word fathom comes from the same old English root fæðm meaning 'outstretched arms', and that arm-span idea was also used to measure space in mining. That's why a fathom was once used as a volume measure (about six cubic feet) to count ore.