ˈdepth noun
( plural depths -ps also -pt(h)s)
Etymology: Middle English, probably from dep deep + -th — more at deep
1.
a. : something that is deep : a deep place : a deep part of something ; especially : the deepest part — often used in plural
treasures in the depths of the ocean
b. : a profound or intense or often the most profound or intense state (as of thought or feeling) — often used in plural
in the depths of misery
the depths of reflection
also : a reprehensibly low social, moral, or intellectual condition — often used in plural
criticism … having fallen to such depths, it is hardly surprising that our standards of literature and the arts have fallen with it — Huntington Hartford
c. : the inner especially midmost or more or less remote or unfathomable part — often used in plural
the depths of the forest
disappeared in the depth of the crowd
d. : the part marked by the greatest, the most intense, or the severest degree (as of cold) — often used in plural
in the depths of winter
the depths of the night
in the lowest depths of servility and superstition — T.L.Peacock
also : the worst part — often used in plural
the depths of the slums
the depth of the depression
2.
a. : the perpendicular measurement downward from a surface
the depth of the river
: the extent or measurement from the top downward
the depth of a mine shaft
b.
(1) of a square sail : the extent from the headrope to the footrope
(2) of a staysail or boom sail : the length of the after leech — compare drop I 2b(2) hoist II 3b
c. : the distance between upper and lower or between dorsal and ventral points of a body
d. : the direct linear measurement from the point of viewing, from the usual position of an observer, or toward the back from a position usually considered the front
wishing he could measure the depth of the sky
the house lot was 200 ft. in depth
the depth of the crowd was considerable
specifically : the space from front to rear occupied by a military formation or position including front and rear elements
e. : a great distance into something immeasurable conceived of as extending from the observer — often used in plural
the depths of space
3.
a. : the quality of being deep or of having considerable extension downward or inward
b. : the quality of being profound (as in insight) or full (as of knowledge) : acuteness , penetration
a certain ripeness of wisdom, a certain pertinency and depth of meaning — P.E.More
says much for the depth of the impression he had received — Richard Garnett †1906
Shakespeare gives the greatest width of human passion; Dante the greatest altitude and greatest depth — T.S.Eliot
c. : the quality of being abstruse
the great depth of such thought left the ordinary brain tired and confused
d. : the quality of being intense or complete (as in moral quality or state of feeling)
the depth of a man's unrighteousness
impossible to share another's depth of grief
no one knew the depth of his guilt
e. : the quality of being low in pitch usually with fullness of tone
the vitality and depth of the sound that reached the ear — Jack Gould
f. : physical intensity
a great depth of stillness in the woods
specifically : the degree of departure from colorlessness that is characteristic of the concentration or efficiency of a bulky color produced by increasing from zero the thickness of its layers or from white of a surface color
4. archaic : the number of attributes that an abstract conception or notion includes : connotation
5. : the degree of engagement between a wheel and a pinion in a clock or watch
•
- beyond one's depth
- in depth