Etymograph

English

fathom

Fathom comes from Middle English fathome ‘unit of length of about six feet’, from Old English fæþm ‘encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pet- ‘to spread out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pet-‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*faþmaz‘outstretched arms, embrace’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*faþm‘outstretched arms, embrace’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fæþm‘encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fathome‘unit of length of about six feet’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1601fathom

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pet-‘to spread out’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*faþmaz‘outstretched arms, embrace’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*faþm‘outstretched arms, embrace’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150fæþm‘encircling or outstretched arms, bosom, embrace’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fathome‘unit of length of about six feet’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1601fathom

Earliest quotation: 1601, Thomas Dekker: “Thy Bride, thy choice, thy vvife, / She that…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *pet- ‘to spread out’

passion, compatibility, petal, 4 more

Today it means

noun 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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pet- / fathom

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