The Only Use of
fathom
in
To Kill a Mockingbird
- For reasons unfathomable to the most experienced prophets in Maycomb County, autumn turned to winter that year.
p. 72.0unfathomable = not understandablestandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unfathomable means not and reverses the meaning of fathomable. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
Definitions:
-
(1)
(fathom as in: can't fathom) understand something -- especially when it’s difficult or complex
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Fathom can also refer to a unit of measure for water depth (6 feet), or to the act of measuring the depth of water.