fathom 
raden, G. fallen, a thread, G. also (< LG.) a 
' fathom, = Icel. fudlnnr. the arms, the bosom. 
a fathom, = Sw. fumn, the arms, bosom, em- 
brace, = Dan. fur n. an embrace, a fathom. 
Prob. connected with Goth.fntlia = Ml Iii. null-. 
a hedge, iuelosure.] 1. Originally, the space 
to which a man may extend his arms ; specifi- 
cally, a measure of length containing 6 feet: 
used chiefly in nautical and mining measure- 
ments. 
Th<^r tivcs were sette, that I devyse, 
One from another in assyse 
Yivefadotiie or syxe. Rum. f if the Roue, \. 1390. 
Theshiptnen . . . sounded and found it twenty fttthnntx; 
anil when they had gone a little further, they sounded 
again and found it fifteen fathoms. Acts xxvii. 2S. 
Full fathom five thy father lies ; 
Of his bones are coral made. 
Shak., Tempest, i. 2 (song). 
The extent of hisfathoine, or distance betwixt the ex- 
tremity of the tinkers of either hand upon expansions, is 
equal unto the space between the sole of the foot and the 
crown. Sir T. Broume, Vulg. Err., iv. 5. 
Hence 2. Mental reach or scope; penetra- 
tion; the extent of capacity; depth of thought 
or contrivance. 
Another of his .fathom they have none 
To lead their business. Shak., Othello, i. 1. 
Square fathom, in mining, 36 square feet of the vein, 
measured on one of the walls, and including its whole 
thickness. The available amount of ore in a mine worked 
on a regular fissure-vein is usually reckoned by the square 
fathom. 
fathom (faTH'um), v. t. [< ME. fadomen, fad- 
men, fathmen, embrace, encompass, <A.S.fa'th- 
mian, clasp, embrace, encompass, = D. vademen, 
fathom, sound, = Icel. fadhma, embrace, = Sw. 
famna, fathom, sound, = Dan. favne, clasp, 
embrace, favne op, sound ; from the noun.] If. 
To encompass with the arms extended or en- 
circling. 
Als I sat upon that lawc, 
I bigau Uenemark for to awe, 
The borwes, and the castles stronge, 
And mine armes weren so longe, 
That I fadmede, al at ones, 
Deuemark with mine longe bones. 
Havelok, 1. 1291. 
The temple ... is most of timber, the walls of brick 
diuided into flue iles with rowes of pillars on both sides, 
which are of round timber as bigge as two men c&nfathome. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, iv. 19. 
2. To reach in depth by measurement in fath- 
oms; sound; try the depth of; penetrate to or 
find the bottom or extent of. 
The Philosopher can fathom the deep, measure Moun- 
tains, reach the Stars with a Staff, and bless Heaven with 
a Girdle. Howell, Letters, I. v. 9. 
Our depths who fathoms, or our shallows finds, 
Quick whirls and shifting eddies of our minds? 
Pope, Moral Essays, i. 23. 
Hence 3. To penetrate with the mind ; com- 
prehend. 
Leave to fathom such high points as these. 
Dryden, tr. of Persius's Satires. 
Vex not thou the poet's mind. 
For thou canst not fathom it. 
Tennyson, The Poet's Mind. 
fathomable (faTH'um-a-bl), a. [< fathom + 
-able.] 1. Capableof being fathomed or sounded 
by measurement. 2. Capable of being sound- 
ed by thought, or comprehended. 
The Christian's best faculty is faith, his felicity there- 
fore consists in those things which are not perceptible by 
sense, not fathomable by reason. 
Bp, Hall, Satan's Fiery Darts Quenched, iii. 
fathomer (faTH'um-er), n. One who fathoms. 
fathomless (faTH'um-les), a. [< fathom + 
-less.] If. Incapable of being embraced or en- 
compassed with the arms. 
And buckle-in a waist most fathomless 
With spans and inches so diminutive 
As fears and reasons? Shak., T. and C., ii. 2. 
2. Having a depth so great that it cannot be 
fathomed; bottomless. 
Seas as fathomless as wide. 
Cowper, Secrets of Divine Love (trans.). 
God in the fathomless profound 
Hath all his choice commanders drown'd. 
Sandys, Paraphrase of Ex. xv. 
3. Not to be penetrated by thought or compre- 
hended. 
Here lies the fathomless absurdity. 
Milton, Tetrachordon. 
With wide gray eyes so frank and fathomless. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, HI. 80. 
fathom-line (faTH'um-Hn), . A line for sound- 
ing, or with which soundings are made. 
Or dive into the bottom of the deep, 
Where /atAom-RiM could never touch the ground, 
Ami pluck up drowned honour by the locks. 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., i. 3. 
2155 
fathomlyt, n. [< fathom + -fyl.] Including a 
fathom : MS, fullnniilij assize. 
fathom-wood (faTii'um-wud), n. Waste tim- 
IMT solil ;it Ihc ship-building yards by cubic 
measurement in fathom lots. [Eng.] 
fatidic (fa-tid'ik), a. [= F.fatidique = Sp.fa- 
tidico = Pg. It. fatidieo, < L. fatidicus, prophe- 
sying, prophetic, < ftttnui, fate, + dicere, say, 
tell: see fate and diction.'] Having power to 
foretell future events; prophetic. 
There is a marvellous impression, which the daemons do 
often make on the minds of those their votaries, about the 
future ur secret matters unlawfully enquired after, and at 
last there is also an horrible possession, which these Fa- 
tidic diemons do take of them. 
C. Mather, Mag. Chris., ii. 13. 
fatidical (fa-tid'i-kal), a. Same as fatidic. 
So that the fatidical fury spreads wider and wider, till 
at last even Saul must join in it. Carlyle. 
fatidically (fa-tid'i-kal-i), adv. In a fatidic or 
prophetic manner. 
fatidiencyt (fa-tid'i-en-si), n. [Irreg. < fatidic 
+ -ency.] Divination. 
Let us make trial of this kind of fatidiency. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, iii. 19. 
fatiferous (fa-tif 'e-rus), a. [= Pg. (poet.) fa- 
tifero, < Ij.fatifcr, that brings death, death-deal- 
ing, (.fatwn, fate, death, + ferre E. bear 1 .] 
Fate-bringing; deadly; mortal; destructive. 
Bailey, 1727. [Bare.] 
fatigablet (fat'i-ga-bl), a. [= It. fatigabile, 
faticabile, < LL. fatigabilis, < L. fatigare, tire: 
see fatigue. ] Easily tired or wearied. Bailey. 
fatigate (fat'i-gat), v. t. ; pret. and pp.fatigated, 
ppr. fatigating. [< J-i.fatigatus, pp. of fatigare, 
tire: see fatigue.'] To fatigue ; tire. [Obsolete 
or colloquial.] 
He, whiche should write the negligent losses, and the 
pollytyque gaynes, of euery citee fortresse and turrett, 
whyche were gotten and loste in these dayes, should fati- 
gate and weary the reader. Hall, Hen. VI., an. 12. 
He, fatiyated with daily attendance and charges, . . . 
departed towards England. Hakluyt's Voyages, I. 286. 
fatigatet (fat'i-gat), a. [< L. fatigatus, pp.: 
see fatigate, v. t.] Fatigued; tired. 
For the poore and needy people beyng fatigate, and 
wery with the oppression of their new landlordes, ren- 
dered their townes before thei were of theim required. 
Hall, Hen. VI., an. 35. 
Then straight his doubled spirit 
Re-quicken'd what in flesh was fatigate, 
And to the battle came he. Shak., Cor., ii. 2. 
fatigationt (fat-i-ga'shon), n. [< L. fatiga- 
tio(n-), < fatigare, weary: see fatigate, fatigue.] 
Weariness. 
The earth alloweth man nothing, but at the price of his 
sweat and fatigation. 
W. Montague, Devoute Essays, I. xx. 1. 
fatigue (fa-teg'), v. t.; pret. and pp. fatigued, 
ppr. fatiguing. [< F. fatiguer = Pr. Sp. Pg. 
fatigar = It. fatigare, faticare, < L. fatigare, 
weary, tire, vex, harass; perhaps connected 
with fatiscere, open in chinks, gape or crack 
open, fig. grow weak, become exhausted, af- 
fatim, adfatim, enough, abundantly,/m;/s, wea- 
ried, tired. The older form of the verb in E. 
is fatigate, q. v.] To weary with labor or any 
bodily or mental exertion; lessen or exhaust 
the strength of by severe or long-continued ex- 
ertion, by trouble, by anything that harasses, 
etc.; tire. 
The man who struggles in the fight, 
Fatitjues left arm as well as right. 
Prior, Alma, ii. 
Lydia was too much fatigued to utter more than the oc- 
casional exclamation of " Lord, how tired I am ! " accom- 
panied by a violent yawn. 
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, xvlii. 
If the eye be now fatigued, e. g., for red, the first light 
ought on liering's theory to seem greenish on account of 
the change in his red-green visual substance. 
Amer. Jour. Psychol., I. 311. 
=Syn. Weary, Jade, etc. See (ire', v. 
fatigue (fa-teg'), n. [< F. fatigue (= Sp.fatiga 
= Pg. fadiga = It. fatica), weariness ; from the 
verb: see fatigue, v.] 1. A feeling of weari- 
ness following bodily labor or mental exertion ; 
a sense of loss or exhaustion of strength after 
exertion, trouble, etc v 
It is not that these [stock words] were originally bad in 
themselves, lint they have become so worn and faded that 
one never hears them without a sense of commonness and 
fatigue. J. C. Shairp, Aspects of Poetry, p. 128. 
Sir, The fatigm of your many public visits, in such 
unbroken succession as may compare with the toils of a 
campaign, forbids us to detain you long. 
Emerson, Address to Kossuth. 
2. A cause or source of weariness; labor; toil: 
as, the fatigues of war. 
The nrrat Sripio sought honours in his youth, and en- 
dured the fatigues with which he purchased them. 
Dryden. 
fat-lean 
Specifically 3. The labors of military men 
distinct from the use of arms; fatigue-duty: 
as, a party of men on fnliijue. 4. The weak- 
ening of a metal bar by the repeated applica- 
tion and removal of a load considerably less 
than the breaking-weight of the bar, as when 
car-axles break from the repeated blows and 
strains which they experience. E. H. Kmyht. 
The so-called fatigue of metals under strain. 
Amer. Jour. Sci., Sdser., XXX. 231. 
= Syn. 1. Fatigue, Weariness, Lassitude. Fatigue is 
more often physical, but also mental, and is generally the 
result of active and strenuous exertion : as, the fatigue of 
ten hours' work, or of close application to books. Weari- 
ness may be the same as fati'tur; it is, more often than 
fatigue, the result of lesa obvious causes, as long sitting 
or standing in one position, importunity lYnni others, de- 
lays, and the like. Fatigue and weariness are natural 
conditions, from which one easily recovers by rest. Lassi- 
tude is a relaxation with languor, the result of greater/a- 
tigue or weariness than one can well bear, and may be of 
the nature of ill health. The word may, however, be used 
in a lighter sense. 
One of the amusements of idleness is reading without 
the fatigue of close attention. Johnson. 
A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor 
miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so 
oft over and over again. Bacon, Death. 
Happy he whose toil 
Has o'er his languid pow'rless limbs diffus'd 
A pleasing lassitude. 
Armstrong, Art of Preserving Health, iii. 385. 
fatigue-call (fa-teg'kal), n. A signal sounded 
upon a drum, bugle, or trumpet to summon 
soldiers to perform fatigue-duty. 
fatigue-cap (fa-teg'kap), n. A small, light cap 
worn by soldiers when on fatigue-duty. 
fatigue-dress (fa-teg'dres), n. The uniform 
worn by soldiers when engaged in fatigue- 
duty. 
fatigue-duty (fa-teg'du"ti), n. That part of a 
soldier's work which is distinct from the use of 
arms. 
fatigue-party (fa-teg'par'ti), n. A body of 
soldiers engaged in or detailed for labors dis- 
tinct from the use of arms. 
fatiguesome (fa -teg 'sum), a. [< fatigue + 
-some.] Fatiguing; wearisome; tiresome. 
The Attorney-General's placets very nice [troublesome] 
and fatiguesome. Roger North, Exameu, p. 515. 
fatiguingly (fa-te'ging-li), adv. So as to cause 
fatigue; tiresomely: as, the road is fatiguingly 
steep and difficult. 
fatiloftUentt (fa-til'o-kwent), .. [= Pg. (poet.) 
fatiloquente, < L. fa'tiloquus, declaring destiny, 
prophesying, < fatum, fate, destiny, + loqui, 
ppr. loquen(t-)s, speak.] Prophesying; pro- 
phetic; fatidic. 
In such like discourses of fatiloquent soothsayers inter- 
pret all things to the best. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, iii. 22. 
fatiloquistt (fa-til'o-kwist), . [< L. fatilo- 
quus, prophesying, + -ist.] A fortune-teller. 
Fatimide (fat'i-mid), a. and . [< Ar. Fatimah 
+ -ide?.] Same as Fatimite. 
Fatimite (fat'i-mit), a. and n. [< Ar. Fatimah 
+ -ite 2 .] I. a. Descended from Fatima, the 
daughter of Mohammed, and wife of the calif 
All. 
At Medina and Mecca his [Moktadi's] name was substi- 
tuted in the public prayers for those of the Fatimite Ca- 
liphs. Encye. Brit., XVI. 588. 
II. . One of the members of an Arabian dy- 
nasty descended from Ali and Fatima, and rul- 
ing from 909 to 1171 in northern Africa and for 
a large part of that period in Egypt and Syria. 
One of the earlier rulers assumed the title of 
calif. 
While the 'Abbasid family was thus dying out in shame 
and degradation, the Fdtimiteg, in the person of Mo'izz 
li-din-iliah, were reaching the highest degree of power and 
glory. Encyc. Brit., XVI. 588. 
fatiscence (fa-tis'ens), . [< fatiscent: see 
fnce.] A gaping or an opening ; the state of 
being chinky. JLirwan. 
fatiscent (fa-tis'ent), a. [< L. fatiscen(t-)n, ppr. 
of fatiscere, open in chinks, gape.] Opening in 
chinks; falling to pieces when exposed to the 
air; gaping. 
fat-kidneyed(fat'kid"nid), a. Fat; gross: used 
in contempt. [Rare.] 
Peace, ye fat-kidneyed rascal ; What a brawling dost 
thou keep! Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ii. 2. 
fat-lean (fat'len), . In whaling, that part of 
a whale's flesh in which the fat and the lean 
are so intimately mixed that it is difficult to 
separate the former from the latter ; also, pieces 
of flesh which adhere to the blubber when the 
latter is cut off. Most of the fat-lean lies about the 
