fadme

Middle English

Etymology

From Old English fæþm.

Noun

fadme (uncountable)

A fathom: a unit of length equal to six feet.
- 1387–1400, [Geoffrey] Chaucer, “The Knẏghtes Tale”, in The Tales of Caunt́bury (Hengwrt Chaucer; Peniarth Manuscript 392D), Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: National Library of Wales, published c. 1400–1410], →OCLC, folio 38, verso:
  heigh labour / and greet apparaillẏnge
  was at the seruẏse / and the fẏr makẏnge
  That w^t his grene top / the heuene raughte
  and twentẏ fadme of brede / the armes straughte
  Great labour and appareling came to the service and the fire-making, for the pyre's green top reached to the skies, and its arms were twenty fathoms wide

Descendants

English: fathom

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.