Fathom to the Old High German word "fadum" meaning embracing arms or a pair of outstretched arms. In Middle English it was "fathme". The Ancient Greek measure known as the orguia (, "orgyiá", "outstretched") is usually translated as "fathom". By the Byzantine period, this unit came in two forms: a "simple orguia" (, "haplē orguiá") roughly equivalent to the old Greek fathom (6 Byzantine feet, m) and an "imperial" (, "basilikē") or "geometric orguia" (, "geōmetrikē orguiá") that was one-eighth longer (6 feet and a span, m). One fathom is equal to: In the international yard and pound agreement of 1959
Fathom Five (novel) Fathom Five (novel) Fathom Five is a 1979 novel by Robert Westall, and is the sequel to "The Machine Gunners" (1975). The book combines elements of spy story with the rites of a passage of teenage life. The characters are now older than in "The Machine Gunners", and the themes are appropriate to their age. The transition from boy to man is one of the central aspects of the novel, and Chas is ultimately faced with a decision a mature adult would find daunting. While "The Machine Gunners" tends to focus on the bombing and fear of invasion in 1941,