Fathom

Uncommon card · No. 115662

A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and U.S. customary systems equal to 6 feet (1.8288 m) or two yards. It was used especially for measuring the depth of water. Fathom was the maritime measure of depth in the English-speaking world well into the 20th century, but such charts now use metres with the exception of the United States which still uses fathoms. The fathom is neither an international standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit. Originally the span of a man's outstretched arms, the size of a fathom has varied slightly depending on whether it was defined as a thousandth of an (Admiralty) nautical mile or as a multiple of the imperial yard. Formerly, the term was used for any of several units of length varying around 5–5+1⁄2 feet (1.5–1.7 m).

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