Wordwyrt

fathom

/ˈfæðəm/FA-thuhm
/ˈfæðəm/FA-thuhm

Meaningoutstretched arms

Common meaning: a measure of six feet

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√PAT‘spread out, lie flat or open’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 192, p. 736 · scan
  2. Old Englishfæðm‘arms spread wide’sourceB&T
  3. Middle Englishfadomsource
  4. Englishmeaning shiftsarms spread wide → a measure of six feetfathom‘a measure of six feet’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English fæðm ‘embrace’.

Roots

  • fæðm Old English “embrace”

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app