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   fathom

   /ˈfað(ə)m/

   noun

   • 1. a unit of length equal to six feet (1.8 metres), chiefly used in reference to the depth of water: "sonar says that we're in eighteen fathoms"

   verb

   • 1. understand (a difficult problem or an enigmatic person) after much thought: "the locals could not fathom out the reason behind his new-found prosperity" Similar understandcomprehendwork outfathom outmake sense ofgraspcatchfollowperceivemake outpenetratedivinesearch outferret outpuzzle outtake inassimilateabsorbget to the bottom ofinterpretdecipherdecodedisentangleuntangleunravelpiece togetherinformal:make head or tail oftake on boardget a fix onget/catch the drift oftumble tocrackdiggetget the pictureget the messagesee what's whattwigsuss (out)savvyrare:cognize
   • 2. measure the depth of (water): "an attempt to fathom the ocean" Similar measure the depth ofsoundplumbprobegaugeestimate

   Word Origin Old Englishfæthm, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch vadem, vaam and German Faden ‘six feet’. 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.

   Derivatives

   • 1. fathomable adjective

   Scrabble Points: 14

   • F

     4

   • A

     1

   • T

     1

   • H

     4

   • O

     1

   • M

     3

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