Depths

How to spell depths

6 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce depths

What does depths mean?

1. nounThe deepest regions of something, or figuratively the most extreme point of a state or feeling.

Depths in a sentence

• The wreck still rests in the cold ocean depths.

• In the depths of winter the heating bills nearly doubled.

Where does depths come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the native English adjective 'deep', which traces back to the Old English 'deop', meaning 'far down or extending a long way below the surface'. In Middle English, speakers built the noun 'depth' by adding the suffix '-th', the same quality-forming ending that turns 'wide' into 'width', 'long' into 'length', and 'strong' into 'strength'. The plural 'depths' appeared as the word came to name not just the measurement but the deep regions themselves, such as the lower reaches of the sea. From the late medieval period onward it also took on a figurative life, describing extremes of emotion or situation, as in the 'depths' of winter or despair. The spelling trap lives entirely in the pile-up of consonants at the end, 'p', 't', 'h', 's', which the tongue blurs into a single sound but the pen must spell out in full.

How the word is built

• deep (root: far down)
• -th (noun-forming suffix denoting a quality or measure)
• -s (plural)