depthn.
/dɛpθ/, U.S. /dɛpθ/ I. The quality of being deep.
1.
a. Measurement or distance from the top downwards (or from the surface inwards); also figurative.
ΘΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > extension downwards or depth > [noun]
deepc1000
deepnessc1330
depth1393
descending1571
profunditudec1616
profoundness1693
sidth1831
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 90 Geometrie, through which a man hath the sleight Of length, of brede, of depth, of height.
1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1483) v. xiv. 107 Alle these thre dymensions..that is to seye lengthe, brede and depthe.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 97 Trenches of a cubite in deapth and breadth.
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. vii. 104 To find out the Absolute depth of the Sea.
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 235 Filling a Glass of some depth half full with it.
1796 C. Marshall Introd. Knowl. & Pract. Gardening v. 81 The due depth at which seed should to be sown, is to be carefully observed.
1858 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Philos.: Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, & Heat (new ed.) 98 It will be..necessary to find the depths at given intervals..from bank to bank.
1895 N.E.D. at Depth Mod. The arrow penetrated to a considerable depth.
b. Measurement from front to back or inward from the outer part; spec. (Military) the distance from front to rear of a body of soldiers as measured by the number of ranks.
ΚΠ
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 549 Serried Shields in thick array Of depth immeasurable. View more context for this quotation
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vii. 131 What width and depth soever you intend your Rooms shall have.
1691 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 8) 154 Whatsoever length his Green-house be, the Depth should not much exceed twelve or thirteen Feet.
1772 J. Adams tr. A. de Ulloa Voy. S. Amer. (ed. 3) I. 157 It is furbeloed with a richer stuff, near half a yard in depth.
1832 Proposed Regulations Cavalry iii. 46 Depth—Distance from front to rear.
2. The quality of being deep, or of considerable extension or distance downwards, or inwards.
ΘΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > extension downwards or depth > [noun] > great or considerable depth
deepnessc1384
lownessa1387
profundity?a1425
profoundness1509
depth1526
lowth1526
hownessa1605
profunditudec1616
profundeur1658
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xiii. 5 Because it had no depth of erth [ Wyclif, Cranmer, depnesse].
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 83 Requires a depth of Lodging in the Ground. View more context for this quotation
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II. vi. 134 The frequency, strength, and depth of his potations.
1895 N.E.D. at Depth Mod. The depth of the snow prevented our passage. We could not reach it from its depth beneath the surface.
3. figurative.
a. Of subjects of thought: Profundity, abstruseness.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [noun]
deepnessa1000
subtletya1387
difficultyc1405
mistiheadc1425
darknessc1450
obscurity1474
profoundnessc1475
obscureness1509
profundity1559
perplexity1563
opacity1575
darksomeness1583
perplexednessa1586
deptha1593
spinosity1605
abstruseness1628
abstrusity1649
inevidence1673
enigmaticalness1684
dark1699
indistinctness1704
confusion1729
reconditeness1779
obfuscity1832
oracularity1840
irrecognizability1847
recondity1856
unrecognizableness1865
crypticity1892
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > high intelligence, genius > [noun] > breadth, depth, strength of intellect
strengthOE
largenessa1382
profoundnessc1475
breadth1532
profundity1559
amplitude1575
deptha1593
powerfulnessc1595
universality1605
fathoma1616
spaciousness1657
comprehensiveness1683
grasp1683
altitudo1933
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. A2v Settle thy studies Faustus, and beginne To sound the deapth of that thou wilt professe.
1605 Bp. J. Hall Medit. & Vowes II. §53 The humility of those great & profound wits, whom depth of knowledge hath not led to bypaths in iudgement.
1613 H. Finch Law (1636) 57 A great part of the depth and learning of the Law.
1850 J. McCosh Method Divine Govt. (1874) iv. ii. 490 There is a great depth of meaning in the saying.
b. Of persons, or their mental faculties or actions: Profundity, penetration, sagacity.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > wisdom, sagacity > [noun]
righteousnesseOE
snoterc950
witnessc950
wisdomOE
insightc1175
witc1175
smeighnessc1200
sleighta1300
witternessa1300
inwitc1305
wittiheadc1315
wisenessc1320
witterheda1325
wisehede1340
slyness1357
sapience1377
wisdomhood138.
prudencea1382
sapienta1400
sentencec1400
advice?a1439
sophyc1440
profunditya1500
wittiness1543
Minerva1601
depth1605
Sophia1649
visionariness1817
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > [noun]
sharpnessc897
yepshipc1000
insightc1175
yepleȝȝcc1175
yephedea1250
wit1297
fellnessa1382
policyc1440
discerningc1450
policec1450
inspectiona1527
perceivance1534
aptitude1548
sagacity1548
acuity?1549
nimbleness1561
acumen1579
seeing eye1579
esprit1591
acuteness1601
depth1605
penetration1605
knowingness1611
shrewdnessa1616
piercingnessa1628
discernment1646
sharpwittedness1647
nasuteness1660
arguteness1662
sagaciousness1678
perceptivity1700
keenness1707
cuteness1768
intuition1780
recollectedness1796
long-headedness1818
perceptiveness1823
kokum1848
incision1862
incisiveness1865
penetrativeness1873
flair1881
hard-boiledness1912
smart1964
spikiness1977
sus1979
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. E3v Life of inuention, or depth of iudgement. View more context for this quotation
1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 108 A Man of extraordinary Depth.
1781 W. Cowper Charity 392 He talks of light, and the prismatic hues, As men of depth in erudition use.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire ii. 81 If it is often necessary to condemn him for superficiality, this lack of depth never..proceeds from..painstaking.
c. in depth, profoundly; with deep insight or penetration. See also in-depth adj. at in- prefix1 2.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > high intelligence, genius > [adjective] > of mind, operations: broad, deep, strong
stronga1393
profounda1450
reachinga1500
ingenious1509
spacious1609
vast1610
vigorous1640
rugged1678
wide1717
broad1832
oceanica1834
in depth1959
1959 B. C. Brookes in R. Quirk et al. Teaching of English v. 148 It takes the scientist perhaps twenty or thirty years to reach..that mature grasp of his subject which enables him to see it clearly both in depth and in relation to other disciplines.
1959 Listener 9 July 69/2 Dr. Waidson presumably had the choice of writing in depth about a few novelists or of skimming over as many authors as he could get into his survey.
1966 Punch 19 Jan. 83/3 Why haven't you asked my views on Sport? Not quite interviewing me in depth are you, Mr. Haverwood?
4. Of feelings, moral qualities, or states: Intensity, profundity.
ΘΠ
the mind > emotion > intense emotion > [noun] > intensity or depth
strengthOE
deepnessc1175
inliheadc1450
profundity1565
depth1597
keenness1600
profoundness1612
poignancy1745
poignance1812
intensity1830
inwardness1836
1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 71 The depth of griefe, with words is sounded least.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. i. 128 To sound the depth of this knauerie. View more context for this quotation
1640 H. Glapthorne Ladies Priviledge iv. sig. Fiiiv This cruelty exceeds The depth of tyranny.
1743 J. Wesley & C. Wesley Coll. Psalms (new ed.) cxxxvii. 22 The Depth of sympathetic Woe!
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) III. xiii. 303 Tostig alone did not stick at this depth of treason.
5. Of physical qualities or conditions, as silence, darkness, colour: Intensity. depth of field, depth of focus: see field n.1 14c, focus n. 5e.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [noun]
highnesseOE
strengthOE
altitude?a1475
vehemence1535
vehemency1546
profundity1565
height1601
profoundness1612
depth1624
intensenessa1631
exquisiteness1650
eminence1651
intensivenessa1656
intensity1665
1624 R. Davenport City Night-cap 111 In depth of silence, you shall confess.
c1820 S. Rogers Italy (1830) 132 Cedar and cypress threw Singly their depth of shadow.
1873 J. Tyndall Six Lect. on Light iv. 157 A splendid azure, which..reaches a maximum of depth and purity, and then..passes into whitish blue.
6. Logic. The sum of the attributes contained in a concept; = comprehension n. 4.
ΚΠ
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic iv. 67 This distinction of Quantity has been expressed by Logicians in various ways..A Logical or Universal whole has Extension, Breadth, Sphere..A Metaphysical or Formal whole has Intension, Depth, Comprehension.
II. Something that is deep.
7. † b. The great abyss of waters; the deep n. Obsolete.
a. A deep water; a deep part of the sea, or of any body of water. Usually in plural; now only poetic and rhetorical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > body of water > [noun] > deep place or part
swallowa700
deepnessa1000
deepOE
swallowa1100
depth1382
gulfc1400
profound?a1425
abysm?1614
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. xv. 5 The depe watris couerden hem; thei descendiden into the depthe as a stoon.
1388 J. Wyclif Psalms cxlviii. 7 Herie ȝe the Lord; dragouns, and alle depthis of watris [1382 depnessis].
c1400 Prymer 67 Depþe clepiþ depþe, in þe vois of þi wyndowis.
1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xviii. 5 Ev'n from the waters depth, my God preserv'd me soe.
1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xv. 5 The depths haue couered them. View more context for this quotation
1816 J. Wilson City of Plague ii. iv. 152 But I have gazed with adoration Upon its awful depths profoundly calm.
1820 P. B. Shelley Cloud in Prometheus Unbound 197 In the depths of the purple sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > [noun] > ocean, open sea, or deep sea
room seaeOE
seawaya1000
the deepc1000
deptha1382
oceana1387
mid-sea?a1425
profound?a1425
main seaa1530
high seas1566
main1579
main flood1596
the deep1598
deep sea1626
dipsey1626
mid-ocean1697
blue water1803
haaf1809
salt chuck1868
wide1916
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. li. 10 Whether not thou driedist the se, water of the huge depthe.
1611 Bible (King James) Prov. viii. 27 When he set a compasse vpon the face of the depth . View more context for this quotation
8. A deep place in the earth, etc.; a deep pit, cavity, or valley (obsolete); plural the deep or lowest part of a pit, cavity, etc. (rhetorical).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hole or pit > [noun] > abyss
swallowa700
deepnessa1000
deep1393
abysmc1475
dungeonc1475
depth1523
gulfa1533
downfall1542
hell-kettle1577
abysmus1611
vorago1654
under-abyss1662
purgatory1766
fosse1805
jaw-hole1840
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xviii. 20 Thus rode forthe all that daye, the yonge kyng of Inglande, by mountaignes and deptis.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 143 Ev'n from the depths of Hell the Damn'd advance. View more context for this quotation
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xv. 241 Miss Ophelia, suddenly rising from the depths of the large arm-chair.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 4 A demon from the depths of the pit.
9. A vast or unfathomable space, an abyss; the deep or remote part (of space, the air, the sky, etc.). Usually in plural (poetic and rhetorical).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > space > [noun]
heavensOE
heavenOE
space1561
space1582
ether1587
the deep1598
depth1613
void1667
empyrean1879
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage i. ii. 6 An Earth without forme, and void, a darkened depth and waters.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 91 The Depths of Heav'n above, and Earth below. View more context for this quotation
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 420. ¶3 Those unfathomable Depths of Ether.
1849 H. W. Longfellow Kavanagh v. 32 Measureless depths of air around.
1883 R. A. Proctor Myst. Time & Space 57 With Briarean arms science thrust back the stars into the depths of space.
10. The inner part far from the surface or outside. Also in plural.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > [noun] > that which is within > interior part(s) > far from the outside
depthc1400
the world > space > distance > distance or farness > [noun] > distant parts > a remote or inaccessible place > in the centre
deepc1400
depth1733
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. (MS. B) 60 Brennynge of hote eyren to þe depþe of the wounde ys most proffytable.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 91 If þat a festre perse..into depþe it is an imperfiȝt cure.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man i. 107 Some safer world in depth of woods embrac'd.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 254 In the depth of those remote and solitary forests.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Homer's Hymn to Mercury xxxi, in Posthumous Poems (1824) 305 The sacred wood, Which from the inmost depths of its green glen Echoes the voice of Neptune.
1887 C. Bowen tr. Virgil Æneid i, in tr. Virgil in Eng. Verse 86 Compassed with trees of the forest and depths of shuddering shade.
11. The middle (of winter, of night), when the cold, stillness, or darkness is most intense.
ΘΠ
the world > time > period > [noun] > middle of a period
midtime1418
heart1523
holla1525
deep1530
waist1604
depth1605
full1658
howe1818
hollow1864
inside1890
1605 G. Chapman Al Fooles i. ii You meet by stealth In depth of midnight.
1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. 407 Though it were the depth of winter.
a1764 R. Lloyd New-river Head in Poems Nor finish till the depth of night.
1863 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation 19 In full leaf and beauty in the very depth of winter.
12. figurative.
a. A deep (i.e. secret, mysterious, unfathomable, etc.) region of thought, feeling, or being; the inmost, remotest, or extreme part. Now often in plural.
ΘΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > [noun] > that which is within > interior part(s) > innermost part
inmosta1050
highestlOE
depth1382
intestinea1533
bottom1587
penetral1589
deep1609
recess1616
recessora1637
intime1657
intrinsic1665
penetralia1668
innermost1674
1382 J. Wyclif Psalms cxxix. 1 Fro depthis I criede to thee, Lord.
a1569 M. Coverdale Fruitful Lessons (1593) sig. Oo2 Gods word is euen a sharpe two edged sword, and entreth through to the depth.
a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. B3 Hauing a smack in all, And yet didst neuer sound anything to the depth.
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. iii. 91 I was come to the whole depth of my tale. View more context for this quotation
1665 J. Spencer Disc. Vulgar Prophecies 96 Not a cloudy expression drops from them but it is christned a depth and a great mystery.
1813 P. B. Shelley Queen Mab vi. 82 From the depths of unrecorded time.
1875 A. Helps Social Pressure iii. 54 Imagine that there were no such depths of degradation.
b. Applied attributively to an interview, approach, etc., that seeks to discover motives or attitudes that are not normally divulged, the results of which are used esp. as a basis for certain advertising techniques. Cf. depth psychology n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > [adjective]
analytic1898
analytical1906
psychoanalytic1906
psychoanalytical1908
psycho1914
depth1948
depth-psychological1958
1948 Jrnl. Appl. Psychol. Oct. 550 To orient ourselves to the problem and sketch in its broad outlines we began with a series of a hundred ‘depth interviews’ of television families.
1957 Bookseller 28 Sept. 1216/3 No real harm can be done if, using the results brought to the surface of the human subconscious and unconscious mind by the ‘depth diggers’, one astute manufacturer sells more of a commodity than a rival marketing a brand of equal quality and price.
1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Nov. 661/2 Space-salesmen have now become students of the sub-conscious mind, and advertisements are governed by the ‘depth-approach’.
1970 Guardian 10 Apr. 7/3 Skilled depth-interviewers.
Phrases
beyond or out of one's depth: literal in water too deep for one to reach the bottom without sinking; figurative beyond one's understanding or capacities.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > [adverb] > beyond understanding
beyond or out of one's depth1623
over a person's heada1626
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 362 I haue ventur'd Like little wanton Boyes that swim on bladders..in a Sea of Glory, But farre beyond my depth . View more context for this quotation
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 6 Launch not beyond your Depth, but be discreet.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 403. ¶7 Finding them going out of my depth I passed forward.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 19 Jan. 4/3 He remained three hours in the water, afraid to move, lest he should get out of his depth.
Compounds
depth bomb n. a bomb capable of exploding under water.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > depth charge
depth charge1917
water bomb1917
ashcan1918
depth bomb1918
1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms (at cited word) Submarines..are pursued and destroyed by dropping depth bombs from the observing aircraft or warship.
1944 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 48 219 Depth Bombs (D.B.)..have a very thin case and are detonated by hydrostatic fuse.
depth charge n. = depth bomb n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > depth charge
depth charge1917
water bomb1917
ashcan1918
depth bomb1918
1917 War Illustr. 18 Dec. 361 Telegraph to seamen..who prepare to drop Depth Charges to destroy U-boat.
1920 Blackwood's Mag. Mar. 315/2 The depth-charge thrower, which later came into common use..was as yet far from perfection.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station 14 Lieutenant Williamson..described how depth-charges (he said ‘bombs exploding 20 feet under the surface of the water’) might possibly be used to destroy submarines.
depth-charge v. (transitive) to attack with depth charges.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > operations or manoeuvres > perform operation or manoeuvre [verb (transitive)] > depth-charge
depth-charge1918
1918 Daily Mail 23 Sept. 2/4 From the captain of a U-boat..came to me the following description of what it is like to be depth-charged.
1940 War Illustr. 19 Jan. 628/3 That would find the submarine for us—and then we could depth-charge it.
depth finder n. an apparatus for sounding the sea; spec. sonic depth finder one in which the measurement is made by timing the echoes from the sea-bottom of sound waves transmitted from the ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > navigational aids > [noun] > depth-finder
depth recorder1911
depth finder1923
Fathometer1925
echo-sounder1927
echometer1937
1923 Hydrographic Rev. I. 72 Navy sonic depth finder recently developed at the Engineering Experiment Station, Annapolis, Maryland.
1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 232/1 Echo sounder... Also called depth finder.
depth-gauge n. a gauge used to measure the depth of holes.
depth-keeping adj. and n. the maintenance of a submarine, fishing-net, etc., at a certain depth.
Π
1916 R. Kipling Tales of ‘Trade’ i. 6 Depth-keeping,..very difficult owing to heavy swell.
1923 Blackwood's Mag. Oct. 527/1 Accurate depth-keeping being out of the question, I surfaced.
1959 H. Barnes Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. i. 26 Modern practice is tending more to the use of a depth-keeping device, either on the net itself or on the towing wire... The paravane principle is often employed.
depth psychologist n. one who practises or is skilled in depth psychology.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > [noun] > practitioner of
third ear1907
psychoanalyst1910
analyst1912
psych1946
depth psychologist1947
1947 Partisan Rev. 14 528 Those commonplaces are too humdrum for the depth psychologist.
1957 Observer 27 Oct. 18/6 Motivational research took the place of market research, and the depth psychologists became the eminences grises of salesmanship.
depth psychology n. [translating German tiefenpsychologie (S. Freud Das Ich und das Es (1923) i. 17)] = psychoanalysis n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > [noun] > therapeutic method
analysis1898
psychoanalysis1906
talking cure1910
psycho1921
depth psychology1927
1927 J. Riviere tr. S. Freud Ego & Id i. 18 In the last resort the quality of being conscious or not is the single ray of light that penetrates the obscurity of depth-psychology.
1947 W. Empson Seven Types of Ambiguity (ed. 2) p. x Some critics do not like to recognise this process because they connect it with Depth Psychology.
1960 H. Read Forms of Things Unknown viii. 133 Myth and dream, symbol and image—all the paraphernalia of depth-psychology—are conceived as shadow play.
1963 L. B. Lefebre tr. M. Boss Psychoanal. & Daseinsanal. v. 87 The unconscious became so much the mark of psychoanalytic theory that psychoanalysis, and all doctrines derived from it, eventually became known as ‘depth’ psychologies. ‘Depth’ entered the picture because Freud..undertook to view mental phenomena in terms of a ‘topographic’ approach, and to regard the unconscious as a ‘psychical locality’..‘below’ consciousness.
depth-psychological adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > [adjective]
analytic1898
analytical1906
psychoanalytic1906
psychoanalytical1908
psycho1914
depth1948
depth-psychological1958
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 23 May p. xii/2 A sympathetic understanding of depth-psychological concepts.
depth recorder n. a device for recording either how far below the surface of the sea it is or the depth of water below a vessel.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > navigational aids > [noun] > depth-finder
depth recorder1911
depth finder1923
Fathometer1925
echo-sounder1927
echometer1937
1911 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 295/1 Lord Kelvin's sounding machines..in the later form known as the ‘depth recorder’, where..results are obtained by the automatic record of the position of a piston forced upwards in a tube by..increased pressure.
1961 Listener 24 Aug. 269/1 After the war, echo-sounding and depth-recorders were introduced to fishing boats, and echoes were received of big shoals of fish.
depth-recording n.
Π
1959 H. Barnes Oceanogr. & Marine Biol. i. 23 If the speed of the towing vessel can be accurately controlled, then the depth of the net for a given towing speed may be determined in a series of trial runs, using a depth-recording device attached to the net.
depth-wise adv. in the way or direction of depth.
Π
1814 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. 38 214 A violation of unity of scene, not sidewards, but depthwise.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.a1382