fathom
n. 英寻(长度单位,合6英尺) vt. 测量深度, 看穿, 彻底了解 vi. 测深
发音
词形变化
别名
教材释义与例句
英寻（测量水深的长度单位）
看穿；彻底了解；测量…的深度
释义与例句
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1.
A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres). Later used to measure the depth of water, but now generally replaced by the metre outside American usage.
美国 历史 航海 交通 -
2.
A man's armspan, generally reckoned to be six feet (about 1.8 metres). Later used to measure the depth of water, but now generally replaced by the metre outside American usage.
An internationally standardized version of this unit, the international fathom (= 1.8288 metres = 6 feet).
美国 历史 航海 交通 -
3.
A measure of distance to shore: the nearest point to shore at which the water depth is the value quoted.
美国 航海 交通After we'd rowed for an hour, we found ourselves stranded ten fathoms from shore.
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4.
An unspecified depth.
比喻 -
5.
Depth of insight; mental reach or scope.
古体 比喻 废旧 -
6.
The act of stretching out one's arms away from the sides of the torso so that they make a straight line perpendicular to the body.
废旧 -
7.
Someone or something that is embraced.
废旧 -
8.
Control, grasp.
比喻 废旧
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1.
To measure the depth of (water); to take a sounding of; to sound.
比喻 及物 -
2.
To encircle (someone or something) with outstretched arms; specifically, to measure the circumference or (rare) length of something.
古体 废旧 及物 -
3.
Often followed by out: to deeply understand (someone or something); to get to the bottom of.
理解
比喻 及物I can’t for the life of me fathom what this means.
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4.
To embrace (someone or something).
废旧 及物 -
5.
To measure a depth; to sound.
不及物 -
6.
To conduct an examination or inquiry; to investigate.
比喻 不及物
词汇关系
词源
From Middle English fathome, fadom, fadme (“unit of length of about six feet; depth of six feet for nautical soundings; (loosely) cubit; ell”) [and other forms], from Old English fæþm, fæþme (“encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace; envelopment; control, grasp, power; fathom (unit of measurement); cubit”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *faþm (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Germanic *faþmaz (“outstretched arms, embrace; fathom (unit of measurement)”), from Proto-Indo-European *pet-, *peth₂- (“to spread out; to fly”). Cognates * Ancient Greek πέταλος (pétalos, “broad; flat”), πετᾰ́ννῡμῐ (petắnnūmĭ, “to open; to spread out; to be dispersed or scattered”) (whence English petal) * Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌸𐌰 (faþa, “fench; hedge”) * Latin pateō (“to extend, increase; to be accessible, attainable, open; to be exposed, vulnerable”) * Low German fadem, faem (“cubit; thread”) * Middle Dutch vadem (modern Dutch vaam, vadem (“fathom”)) * Norwegian Bokmål favn (“an embrace; a fathom”) * Old Frisian fethm (“outstretched arms”) * Old High German fadam, fadum (“cubit”) (Middle High German vade (“enclosure”), vadem, vaden, modern German Faden (“fathom; filament, thread”)) * Old Norse faþmr (Danish favn (“an embrace; a fathom”), Icelandic faðmur (“an embrace”), Swedish famn (“the arms, bosom; an embrace”)) * Old Welsh etem (“thread”)
来源：wiktionary