All 4 Uses of
fathom
in
The Brothers Karamazov
- It is terrible because it has not been fathomed and never can be fathomed, for God sets us nothing but riddles.†
Chpt 3 *fathomed = came to understand
- It is terrible because it has not been fathomed and never can be fathomed, for God sets us nothing but riddles.†
Chpt 3
- And how much that is great, mysterious and unfathomable there is in it!†
Chpt 6unfathomable = not capable of being understoodstandard 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.
- The vault of heaven, full of soft, shining stars, stretched vast and fathomless above him.†
Chpt 7fathomless = impossible to understandstandard suffix: The suffix "-less" in fathomless means without and reverses the meaning of fathom. This is the same pattern you see in words like harmless, fearless, and powerless.
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.