A fathom is the name of a unit of length in the Imperial system (and the derived U.S. customary units). The name derives from the Old English word fæðm meaning 'outstretched arms'.^[1][2][3] In Middle English it was fathme. Its size can vary from system to system. The most commonly used fathom today is the international fathom. There are 2 yards (6 feet) in a fathom.^[4] Look up si, Si, SI in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ... km redirects here. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... An angstrom, angström, or Ã¥ngström (symbol Ã…) is a non-SI unit that is internationally recognized. ... The astronomical unit (AU or au or a. ... A light-year, symbol ly, is the distance light travels in one year: exactly 9. ... U.S. customary units, commonly known in the United States as English units—but see English unit—or standard units, are units of measurement that are currently used in the USA, in some cases alongside units from SI (the International System of Units—the modern metric system). ... The Imperial units are an irregularly standardized system of units that have been used in the United Kingdom and its former colonies, including the Commonwealth countries. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A yard (abbreviation: yd) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A mile is a unit of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, United States customary units and Norwegian/Swedish mil. ... The former Weights and Measures office in Middlesex, England. ... For other uses of this word, see Length (disambiguation). ... The Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of English units, first defined in the Weights and Measures Act of 1824, later refined (until 1959) and reduced. ... U.S. customary units, commonly known in the United States as English units—but see English unit—or standard units, are units of measurement that are currently used in the USA, in some cases alongside units from SI (the International System of Units—the modern metric system). ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Middle English is the name given to an early form of the English language that was in common use from roughly the 12th to the 15th centuries— from after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror in 1066 to around the introduction of the printing press by William Caxton... A yard (abbreviation: yd) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

International fathom

In 1958 the United States and countries of the Commonwealth of Nations defined the length of the international yard to be 0.9144 metres. Consequently, the international fathom is defined to be equal to 1.8288 metres. Year 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Commonwealth of Nations (CN), usually known as The Commonwealth, is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states all of which are former colonies of the United Kingdom, except for Mozambique and the United Kingdom itself. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ...

1 international fathom is equal to:

• 6 feet (1 foot is about 0.1667 fathoms)
• 2 yards (1 yard is exactly 0.5 fathoms)
• 1.8288 metres (1 metre is about 0.5468 fathoms)
• 72 inches

A foot (plural: feet or foot;[1] symbol or abbreviation: ft or, sometimes, ′ – a prime) is a unit of length, in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... A yard (abbreviation: yd) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... The metre, or meter (U.S.), is a measure of length. ... Mid-19th century tool for converting between different standards of the inch An inch is an Imperial unit of length. ...

British Fathom

Prior to that standarization on the international fathom, the British Admiralty defined a fathom to be a thousandth of a imperial nautical mile (which was 6080 ft) or 6.08 feet. This is equivilent to 1.853184 metres. For the international law of the sea, see Admiralty law. ...

Use of the fathom

Once also used for measuring distances on land, the fathom is now restricted to nautical uses, especially expressing the depth of water or the length of nautical rope or cable. Until early in the twentieth century, it was the unit used to measure the depth of mines in Cornwall, England.^[5] The verb "to fathom" means to measure the depth of something, especially using a sounding line. This article is in need of attention. ... This article is about mineral extraction. ... Cornwall (Cornish: ) is a county in South West England, United Kingdom, on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar and Devon. ... A sounding line or lead line is a length of thin rope with a weight, generally of lead at its end. ...

Civilian maps in English-speaking countries used to have depths commonly marked in fathoms, but this has changed to metres generally, even in US maps. Nautical charts have changed on a separate schedule. Portion of chart of Bering Strait, site of former land bridge between Asia and North America. ...

Trivia

It is customary, when burying the dead in the USA and elsewhere, to inter the corpse at a fathom's depth, or six feet under. By other animals Humans are not the only species to bury their dead. ...

Algorithmic Fathom

In algorithmic techniques such as the Branch-and-Bround technique, fathoming refers to eliminating a subset of possible solutions because these solutions can never be the optimal solution.

Other fathoms and similar units of length

Units of length similar to the size of the fathom can be found in many cultures. Some are listed below.

There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... A Toise (symbol: T) is a unit of measure for both length and area originating in pre-revolutionary France. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Vienna (German: , see also other names) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Interlingua is an international auxiliary language (IAL) published in 1951 by the International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). ... Sana lamjel was a customary unit of length used in the erstwhile kingdom of Manipur, now a state of India. ...

See also

• English unit
• Imperial unit
• United States customary units
• International System of Units
• Ancient Greek units of measurement

English unit is an American term that refers to a unit in one of a number of systems of units of measurement, some obsolete, and some still in use. ... The Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of English units, first defined in the Weights and Measures Act of 1824, later refined (until 1959) and reduced. ... U.S. customary units, commonly known in the United States as English units—but see English unit—or standard units, are units of measurement that are currently used in the USA, in some cases alongside units from SI (the International System of Units—the modern metric system). ... Cover of brochure The International System of Units. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...

Notes

1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, 1989;
2. ^ Bosworth / Toller: An Anglis-Saxon Dictionary, 1921.
3. ^ http://beowulf.engl.uky.edu/cgi-bin/Bosworth-Toller/ebind2html3.cgi/bosworth?seq=285
4. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica eleventh edition 1911.
5. ^ Buckley, J.A. (1992). The Cornish Mining Industry. Penryn, Cornwall: Tor Mark Press. ISBN 0-85025-334-9. 

References

• Fenna, Donald (2002). A Dictionary of Weights, Measures, and Units. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198605226. 

External links

• An explanation of the fathom marks used at sea (retrieved Sept 2005).
• Hungarian web page that refers to the length of a "bécsi öl"